Harbinger
by raepan2010
Summary: A Nunya Bizniz AU. Self-insert, as Nunya would imply. Same characters used in the original Nunya Bizniz, but with a new spin. Zoro's single-minded pursuit of his goal is put to the test. Will it be a letter grade, pass or fail? Starts before the series and through it. "The Bermuda Triangle." "YOU B****!" "It's a good thing you didn't hurt anything important." (Zoro,OC) (Ace, OC)
1. USS Harbinger

**I must sincerely apologize to everyone that's following my profile. As you can see I'm not dead. I just haven't been updating for a while. I have no real excuse besides my muse being a fickle bitch, damn her. When I get a story idea in my head it's like all my other stories get put on the back burner. I don't intend to abandon them. It's just if I try to write further without the proper motivation then they don't turn out as good as they could be. I wouldn't want to post anything other than my best for you guys. That being said, here's the beginning of the work my muse has been so adamant I pursue. This whole story started out with two questions. "What would happen if Nunya was an actual naval vessel?" "Why doesn't Zoro take interest in women?" Now, the second question is kind of obvious. He's too focused on his goal and promise to even consider a relationship of any kind. But that didn't stop my muse from spinning it into a whole different direction. So, this story takes place a little under two years before the start of the actual One Piece series. I didn't plan on posting this for a long while yet, but things happened in the last few days that made me reconsider. My sister asked me to make a pirate ship cake for my nephews birthday. My imagination has me pumped for that. There are also so many birthdays going on around me right now that it's hard not to share that mood with everyone. My own birthday is just around the corner.**

 **The main reason I'm posting this story today: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZORO!**

I make no money off of this work of fiction. One Piece and it's characters are the work of Oda Eiichiro.

 **Harbinger**

Prologue: USS Harbinger

A young female military recruit stood in the hall in front of the conference room at the main building in the Fort Knox base. She was the youngest Commanding Officer in the navy at Twenty. Her high schooling had taken place in a military facility that she had begged her parents to allow her to attend. When she graduated she immediately enlisted and was sent out to sea having already completed basic training in school. Not even a half year later the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center happened. Things on the ship had been stressful, including several attacks on their vessel. It was during one of these attacks the young recruit gained a reputation. The bridge had suffered a direct attack, all officers killed. The ship had been in chaos. The recruit, knowing better than to take charge, started suggesting things that would help them save the ship and not lose any more lives. This managed to bring the entire crew back home with the only casualties being those from the initial attack. Her actions had been noticed and recognized with a ranking promotion.

The meeting that was being held was regarding her. The officials were discussing if she should be sent on an exploratory mission out at sea. A new type of ship had been built and they needed it to be tested by the best and brightest of the military. Three ships in total had been built. The first two already had their crew for test runs. They would launch as soon as the third one had it's crew established. The team would consist of a CO, Chief Engineer, physician, helmsman and a computer technician.

"They're ready for you now," the secretary at the desk announced.

The young girl nodded to the woman and went to the door. She knocked twice before entering. Once inside the girl saluted and said, "Rachel Gillis reporting for assignment."

"Thank you for coming," the naval admiral greeted. "At ease." Rachel lowered her hand and put both hands behind her back and feet shoulder width apart. "As you know, we've been discussing whether to send you on this test mission. Your service has been examplorary and your loyalty not in question. Some of us are concerned, however, regarding your age. Some would argue that you don't know the possible dangers that could be involved."

"All due respect sir," Rachel said when he paused. "Neither do the other COs that have taken up this mission. It's a test mission, so any number of things could happen. Yet, you need a few crews of various backgrounds and history to make reports. Decisions and outcomes are based off of the past experiences of the crew. If you only assign crews within the same age orientation and gender you'll get the same reports."

"An intriguing argument," Rachel's immediate supervisor stated. He was a chiseled man with dark features and dark, slightly graying hair. "Tell us, if we were to give you any choice of location to study with the ship, what would it be?"

"This is a stealth research vessel correct?" Rachel waited for nods of comfirmation. "I'm under the impression that it would also be used to collect enemy intel. It was also built to research stange occurances. Going to waters where the possibility of engaging hostiles is out of the question. However, my destination is no where near a hot zone. If you were to give me command of the remaining ship I would sail it south east from Fort Knox. Then we would spend a week investigating the heart of the Bermuda Triangle. It would be our mission to study the different electrical pulses and currents and try to understand why we've lost so many vessels there through the entire naval history of the US."

A silence stretched across the room. "Why the interest in the Bermuda Triangle?" the navy admiral asked.

"Since a young age it's fascinated me," Rachel admitted. "I would like to better understand why it is that so many vessels have been lost." She paused to let that information sink in. "I assume that scuba gear and a small submersable will be included among the assets of the ship? They would help in gathering sea bed samples."

"A number of small vehicles will be in the cargo bay," an officer agreed. "Each one has their uses for gathering information, research or intel. The main source of transportation, aside from the ship itself, would be a helicopter. Although you wouldn't have a pilot to man it just yet. This is just a test and a full crew is not required."

"Understood," Rachel agreed. "Should the need arise I have a basic understanding of operating helicopters. I believe that a wide variety of knowledge is an asset."

"So it is," the same officer nodded. "If it's the decision of this commitee to send Officer Gillis as the third CO I have no objections."

"Shall we put it to a vote then?" the admiral asked. The table voiced it's agreement. "Officer, if you would give us a moment of privacy." Rachel saluted before walking out of the room once more.

Rachel waited in the hall for another five minutes before she was called in once again. "We've come to our decision," the admiral stated. "The vote has favored in the side of you being allowed command of one of these stealth vessels." At the announcement Rachel remained calm on the outside, but on the inside she was doing a happy dance. "There is one more thing to be discussed, there's still one crewman position open. That would be the computer expert. We're having a difficult time finding someone within the navy that has the qualifications we're looking for."

"I have a suggestion," Rachel spoke out. "If I may be so bold."

"We're all ears."

"The person I have in mind is not in the navy, but still in the military," Rachel started. "She has proven herself more than capable of outsmarting even our most seasoned technicians. She's been called to several bases to fix their computers when no other could. I know her personally and I also know that she won't question my judgement when it comes to a tactical order on the ship. As far as computers are concerned, I'm not overly familiar with them beyond how to use them. I would defer to her judgement in that regards."

"We couldn't allow that," one officer stated. "She's not a part of the navy and these ships are not only classified, they hold valuable classified information as well."

"It's not out of the realm of reason," Rachel pressed. "I can personally vouch for her record. I've known this person my whole life. She graduated from college a year early due to her computer skills. After the Trade Center attack she joined the military. As a part of the US military, she already knows the importance of confidential information. Despite not being in the navy, we can trust her."

"It's something that we'll need to look into and give some thought," the admiral stated. "We'll let you know of our decision before it's time for you to set sail. We'll need to know her name though. You'll have to train her about the basic ship functions while out at sea. You wouldn't have so many duties if you would allow a navy technician to accompany you."

"I have thought of that," Rachel admitted. "But there's no one I would rather have with me on the ship than her. I trust her more than I trust my own sister. I also have a request that I be the one to ask my friend to join my crew on this mission. That is, should you decide to allow her to come with me."

"Only if we decide to grant this odd request ," the admiral stated. "If you'lll give a name then we'll look into it."

"Her name is Melissa Cooper." Rachel gave a final solute and left the room.

The sound of keys from a laptop being pressed quickly droned out the sound of the office around her. She was finishing her 'paperwork' report for the days work. Ever since she agreed to work at this base she had been stuck in a small cubicle and cut off from any challenging work. Her immediate supervisor was intimidated by her computer wit. Sadly there were no other openings available that interested her.

Her lack of challenging work forced the woman to look into a side job of ethical hacking. She only worked for small businesses from her hometown considering that she needed to keep a low profile. She didn't want her superior officers to catch wind of her activities and fire her for it. The job might suck, but until something better came along she was stuck.

The phone ringing was a blissful relief from the droning of keystrokes. Melissa reached for her desk phone, but realized that wasn't where the ringing was coming from. The noise was coming from the bottom drawer of her desk. That's where she usually kept her purse and her cell phone. Melissa moved quickly to open the drawer and fish out her phone. The caller ID showed that it was from her cousin.

"Hey girl," Melissa answered. "What's up?"

"I got the mission I told you about," Rachel answered.

"You mean the one where I won't be able to talk to you for a few weeks?" Missy frowned. On the really hard days it was Rachel that was a shoulder to lean on and an ear to nag to. "When are you leaving and when will I hear back?"

"We'll be living as soon as my last crewman gets here," Rachel said.

"And who's that?" Missy asked. "Or can't you talk about that either?"

"I can talk about it," Rachel agreed. "In fact, that's the main reason I called. The mission requires only a few positions. One would be the Commanding Officer."

"So you," Missy pointed out.

"We will also need a computer tecnician and data analyst."

"You would work with someone less qualified than me?" Missy faked offense in her voice.

"Actually no," Rachel shocked Missy. "I'm calling to tell you I have permission from the admiral. Considering that you're the only geek I trust to this extent I told them I would accept the mission if you came along. So how about it? Want some challenging work, double current pay and a new source of information to ponder over?"

"Double pay?"

"Figures you would focus on that."

"As much as I appreciate the offer," Missy started. "It doesn't sound like a permanent job offer. I'm afraid that I have to decline based on that."

"Don't jump the gun just yet," Rachel said. "This job offer comes backed with a letter of recommendation from the navy for your service. You can use it to get any job that you could ever want."

"You really know how to twist someone's arm," Missy sighed. "Let me think about it. I'll let you know by tomorrow at latest. How long would we be gone?"

"Two weeks," Rachel answered. "Enough time to get there, stay for a full week and then return to the military base."

Three hours later.

"You told her 'yes', right?"

Missy cringed at the look that her mother was giving her. "I told her I would think about it," Missy admitted.

"You're going," Mary Cooper announced. "This is the opportunity you were waiting for. You'll get a decent amount of pay for a few weeks. At the end of the assignment you'll get a letter of recommendation from naval officers. If you do really well on the mission they might even make it a recommendation raving all about your outstanding work."

"It sounds like a good deal to me Miss," Ken Cooper added. "Your mom's right about this. You really should take Rachel up on that offer. You two are best friends. Can you picture her spending two weeks alone with anyone without you there and not start a fight?"

"I really can't," Missy shook her head. "Either that girl will come back, covered in bruises because she was stressed over her assignment and worked herself too hard in the gym or her crew will come back with bruises from being used as a punching bag. But, she has restrained herself before, why can't she now?"

"Now she has a ship and people under her command," Mary pointed out. "I have a hard time keeping all you kids in line, let alone someone unrelated."

Missy arrived at the base two days later. She had a few suitcases with her. Enough clothes for two weeks and enough bathroom supplies to last just as long. Rachel was waiting at the security check for her. After speaking with the guard up front Rachel handed Missy a clearance tag. "This will get you past certain security checks," she explained. "Mind you, you don't have all access clearance. This is pretty much for barracks and cafeteria use. It's electronically coded so the only secure facility you're allowed into would be the one that's holding our test vehicles that we'll be launching as soon as you get settled into your station." Rachel made a motion and another sailor took Missy's bags. "He'll put them into the room you'll be using on the vehicle."

"Launching?" Missy rose an eyebrow at Rachel. "Woman, you know that I don't fly."

"And you won't be," Rachel cut her off. "This isn't a flight vehicle we'll be testing. Granted, it does have the capacity to carry a helicopter, and it will, but it most definitely doesn't fly. If it's needed, I'll be the one using the helicopter to run some research scans. It'll also be a great test to see how the test vehicle will handle the stress of take off and landing procedures. So I might just use the helicopter for that purpose alone."

"You say it's for research, but you just really want to fly. So this rig we're testing," Missy started. "It sounds like a big RV or something. We'll be testing this for two weeks?"

"The length of time is accurate," Rachel agreed. "But we'll go over the vehicle specs soon. For now, you need to come to the office. There's some paperwork that you need to fill out before we can make everything official."

"I smell a dodge," Missy accused.

"I'm not at liability to discuss with you the vehicle in question," Rachel admitted. "Disclosure of that information is to the admiral's discretion."

In the office a security officer went over the forms that Missy needed to fill out. Everything from allergies to classification clauses. Not once was there mention of the vehicle that Missy would be helping Rachel with. As the officer was leaving Rachel spoke up. "It was my understanding that the admiral had a few words to discuss with our new recruit," she said.

The officer turned to look at them and gave a small shake of her head. "I'm afraid that the admiral was called away not that long ago. He won't be able to discuss the situation with you before launch." She then turned around to face them fully. "As such, I'm reminded to deliver a message to you. Under no circumstances are you allowed to discuss the nature of the mission until it is underway. No contact with anyone outside of the team is allowed until the mission is over." She then turned and looked at Missy. "You handed your cell phone to the guard at the gate?" Missy nodded and the security officer nodded in approval. "Then there's nothing else to go over. You may begin the mission immediately."

Once the security officer left Rachel let out a big sigh. "I had hoped that you would be informed of what was going on before it was too late for you to back out," she said.

"You could tell me now," Missy pointed out.

"That's against protocol," Rachel denied. "Not to mention in direct violation of orders. I'll get court martialed and discharged for that offense. Then we'll both be without an income or a decent job referral."

"You really know how to twist the knife," Missy sighed. "Alright then, take me to this all so secret vehicle of yours."

Rachel led the way to a large building that looked like a hangar. "I thought that you said it wasn't a flight mission," Missy accused.

"It's not a flight mission," Rachel affirmed. "We needed a building large enough to contain a vehicle as large as this. Foreign nations have Satellites orbiting the Earth too. They can take orbital photos of our work just as easily as we can of theirs. There's three buildings in total on this base that are hiding our work. Once we're on our way they'll be hidden from radar detection. Which means that without an exact location to take a picture of it's highly unlikely that anyone will know what to look for."

"A big ass truck?" Missy pointed out. "Possibly something black or camo, the type of thing that just screams 'I'm hiding a secret!'"

Rachel gave a little laugh at that. "If only it were that easy," she smiled. She opened a door in the hangar and stepped through. Missy followed quickly behind.

"Why's it so dark in here?" Missy asked. She could barely see Rachel leading the way through the building.

"Another security measure," Rachel answered. "Sometimes we'll have a journalist pay soldiers and other personnel to take pictures of whatever secrets we have in the works. Most of the time the darkness is enough. You'll find that rare journalist that won't mind handing over an expensive night vision camera to a stranger for a good picture. But we also have security measures for that as well. Inside this area are a series of magnets. Nothing super powerful, so don't worry. The most they're able to do is disrupt phone signals and camera imagery."

"If the magnets keep photos from being take then why keep it dark?" Missy pressed.

"Just because they can't take a picture doesn't mean that they still can't report what it is that's in here," Rachel reasoned.

"What about the people working in here?" Missy continued. "They need to see what they're working on."

"The main structure of the vehicle isn't really secret," Rachel pointed out. "The military employs so many different types that no one will really think twice about three being built. It's what's on the inside that matters. Stealth equipment for gathering intel and all sorts of other goodies. Even the helicopter has a way of staying off radar. The only ones we needed to worry about leaking information would be the ones installing the computers and other tech. Thankfully, they didn't need to see the outside of the vehicle. The lights were on inside for installation. But when they entered or exited they couldn't see what the vehicle looked like. I'm sure they could figure out what type of vehicle they worked in, but if they don't know what it looks like or what it's for then there's really no point in reporting that to a journalist who's going to want to know."

The two then began climbing a set of stairs with Rachel still in the lead. At the top Rachel warned Missy of a slight step down. She then led her through a door. The lights were on inside. Just looking around, Missy knew. "I've seen enough movies," Missy pointed out. "You should have told me this would be a sea mission. You know how I feel about bridges over water."

"This isn't a bridge and it's not over water," Rachel argued. "Technically speaking, it's in the water. It just doesn't sink to the bottom without some crisis. Honestly, I would have thought that just by me being in the navy would have made what the vehicle is obvious."

"So I was hoping it wasn't a sea vessel. At sea a crisis can happen at any time," Missy pressed.

"It's not storm season," Rachel began. "Even if it was, we have storm radars and pressure gauges installed to warn us on the severity of any storm that might occur. Honestly, those movies you watch don't really cover all the safety measures taken into launching one of these ships. Lots of thought and preparation are put into each launch before it occurs. Even things like 'which ocean or climate condition is this type of vessel going to work best in' or 'what conditions would be needed to make it sink'. Not a single ship has left these docks in the last decade without a guarantee that it would take a lot of extreme conditions to sink them."

"Oh that's reassuring," Missy said sarcastically. "But I still want to get off."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at Missy. "You would be in breach of your contract and you'll never receive that letter of recommendation."

"Don't care," Missy didn't hesitate.

"Fine, I'll tell you what." Rachel started to walk back the way they came. "If you can find the room you'll be staying in, get your luggage and get off this ship before I start the engines and launch you can leave."

"You know I don't know my way around," Missy snapped.

"You made me a promise," Rachel whirled on Missy. "You promised to come with me on this trip."

"I thought that it would be like wilderness survival or something."

"What kind of survival mission needs a computer tech?" Rachel shook her head at Missy. "You really want to leave me hanging like this? I put a lot of credentials on the line to get you this offer from the navy. Not to mention that the other two ships are ready to launch. They're just waiting on us. Or more to the point, waiting on you. We would have to cancel the mission until a replacement can be found."

"You would replace me?" Missy asked.

"You're not leaving me many options," Rachel pointed out. "You know damn well that the risk of this ship sinking is minimal. Just because you had a bad childhood experience doesn't mean that you should let it rule your life. Take me, as an example. The other cousins and even my own siblings treated me like shit. You're the only one that owned up and apologized for being a complete asshat. Now, while I don't communicate with the cousins at all, I'm not completely against meeting new people. Not everyone is the same. So to you I say, just because something is on the water doesn't mean something bad will happen. If you don't like it that much, then stay away from the railings."

"Fine," Missy growled. "I'll tag along with you. What's the name of this bathtub anyway?"

"The USS Harbinger," Rachel smiled. "It's kind of catchy when you get used to it."

"The word Harbinger is used to described someone or something that brings about change," Missy thought aloud. "So, what, you expect this ship to change how sea warfare is done?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure what they were thinking when they christened this boat. But the name painted on the side is Harbinger. Whether the paperwork says more or not I don't really know."

The launch ceremony wasn't much of a ceremony at all. The maiden voyage of the ships was a secret so they really couldn't hold a ceremony. They were about a mile from shore before Missy finally spoke to Rachel again. "So, where exactly are we heading?"

"The Bermuda Triangle."

"YOU BITCH!"


	2. Survey the Area

**_I don't normally do review acknowledgements, I'm too scared I'll forget to mention someone in an acknowledgement. I take after my mother too much I'm afraid. I can remember the most mundane crap that has to relevance to life what-so-ever, but I forget where I put my only set of car keys. Sad, but true. Anyway, I felt that this review deserves a response since it mentions another of my stories._**

 **KyokoRenea:** _Thank you for being a fan of my stories. I also apologize for not picking a story and updating it until it's finished. I've mentioned before that my muse is a fickle bitch. With this story I'm striving not to have that same occurrence. As such, it will be updated only once a month and not when I finish a chapter. I'm solid for a few months in that event. As for Nunya 2, not a whole lot I can say. I added a character that would have worked great for the story. However, the friend for that character became overly picky on how they were written. Despite my warnings that I don't write dark fics she wanted that character to be more depressed, recluse and all around negative to life with a victim mentality. It's impossible for me to write a dark character well. Which has pretty much frozen Nunya 2. Missamouse and I need to go back and rewrite it. We will be removing the added character and putting Ace with who we had originally intended. I'll give one hint: it's not an oc. The problem is the muse. I got two new story ideas in my brain and all other stories were tossed to the back burner. Damn her. We don't plan on giving up any of the stories, it just might take longer than you're hoping, sorry. On to the new chapter._

I make no money off of this work of fiction. One Piece and it's characters are the work of Oda Eiichiro.

 **Harbinger**

Chapter One: Survey the Area

Once Missy had finally agreed to come on the research mission Rachel introduced her to the other members of the crew. The Helmsman, the one that would be working directly with Rachel and Missy, was a male of average body build. He had brunette hair and a full beard. His name was Steven Sollensberg. The Chief Engineer, the only engineer for now, was a tough and hardened woman with blonde hair pulled into a painful looking bun name Marie Bower. Lastly was the ships doctor. He had dark skin and thick accent. His name was Hasif Bana. His parents had come to the US a few years before he was born. Once introductions were finished they were on their way.

It took three days to reach the center of the Bermuda Triangle. "Shall we lower the anchor?" Missy asked. Rachel and Steve looked over at her like she grew another head. "What?"

"The nautical depth here is far too deep for our anchor to reach bottom," Rachel explained.

"Not to mention that there's a strong under current. The anchor will get caught up in it and start dragging us under the water," Steve added.

"You mean the current will use the anchor and pull us in a different direction?" Missy asked hopefully.

"Sure," Rachel nodded her head. "After it sinks us." Missy's hopeful look immediately faltered.

"Relax Missy," Rachel patted her shoulder. "The under current is just that. About fifty feet below the surface. As long as we don't release the anchor we're fine. We'll float relatively in place without too much drift. We can rest until tonight. I want to check how the water behaves during the different cycles of the tides and day. You'll be monitoring the computers while Steve, Marie and I will handle everything else."

"So what do we do until then?" Missy asked.

"Until supper is ready? You can do whatever you want. If you want to read a book on the roof of the bridge I won't stop you. Just don't damage the radar or communication towers."

"Don't even think of touching the solar panels," Marie added.

"I'll pass on that," Missy shuddered. "Being on the bridge is one thing. Being on top of the bridge is a horse of a different color." The crew then went about trying to find something to occupy themselves with before getting started on work. Missy went to take a nap while Rachel worked on writing the report of the journey. Marie went to tinkering around with one of the spare engines she had brought with her. Hasif was reading in his lab. Steven went down to the gym attached to the rec-room/galley.

The ship had been in the Triangle for two hours now. Missy put away the last dish. "So why do I have to do the dishes?" she asked. "By all means, this is your ship."

"I cooked the food," Rachel reasoned. "It's a long standing rule in my house that the one that cooks doesn't have to do the dishes."

"Sometimes I think you make that stuff up just to get out of doing dishes. Why couldn't one of the others do this?" Missy had just finished putting the last dish away when the ship lurched violently to one side. "What the hell was that?"

Instead of answering, Rachel, Steven and Marie rushed out of the 'cafeteria' and headed for the bridge. Missy was following at a bit slower pace. She didn't have as good a pair of sea legs as Sailors did. Once she reached the bridge Missy really wished she had stayed below. The clouds had turned the sky to pitch black. Yellow lightning danced across the sky. "That's not normal," she commented.

"You're not kidding," Rachel was frantically looking at the monitors. "According to the satellites and our other equipment this storm shouldn't be here."

"Are the instruments broken?" Steve asked.

"Don't insult me," Marie snapped. "I keep this ship in proper shape."

Missy stuck her hand out the bridge exit. "There's no wind," she pointed out. "How can there be no wind when the waves are crashing all around us?" A look of panic crosssed her face. "Did that under water current shift to the surface?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Rachel chastised. "It goes against the laws of physics for a natural water current to suddenly shift with no cause."

"Could an under water earthquake cause it to shift?" Missy asked. She was just shooting random ideas out of nowhere.

"If it's strong enough," Rachel hesitantly answered. "But, even if there was an earthquake that doesn't explain the storm. Not to mention this sea area isn't known for having violent earthquakes."

"How much do we even know about this area?" Missy challenged.

A streak of lightning flashed across the window. Rachel rushed to the ship's breaker and pulled the lever down. This essentially shut down the entire ship and all emergency systems. "What the hell did you do that for!?" Marie demanded. "Do you know how much effort it will take to start all the systems back up from a hard shut down!?" The clouds made it so dark now that none of them could see their hands unless they held them close to thier face.

"I'm not about to let a random lightning strike fry our circuits," Rachel explained. "It's bad enough that the hull is likely taking electrical damage when the ocean is hit."

The sound of someone tripping and falling at the entrance had their heads snapping in that direction. "Who turned out the lights?" Hasif asked.

"None of this makes any sense," Missy held onto a consol as a large wave pushed at the ship. "We're above the water. Lightning is attracted to metal or something else high in the sky."

"You don't think I've thought of that?" Rachel's voice sounded in the darkness. "There's so much lightning that it's surrounding the ship. If you want to go out there and check to see if the lightning rod is doing it's job then be my guess."

"No, I'm good. Besides, isn't that Marie's job?"

"Just so you know," Marie's voice was heard. "I'm flipping you off right now."

A light started to grow above the ship. Missy looked out the window and up to the clouds while mouthing the words 'what the fuck'.

"PUT YOUR HEAD DOWN AND CLOSE YOUR EYES!" Rachel's shouted order stopped Missy's next train of thought. Though she wasn't accostumed to taking Rachel's orders, Missy still acted as she had demanded. The shout startled her enough into compliance. Just as her eyes closed a bright light flashed. It nearly blinded her, even with her eyes closed.

The light faded and the crew opened their eyes. None could see very clearly, there were dark spots dancing across their vision. "Keep your head down," Rachel said more calmly.

"Why?" Missy's voice asked.

"Just in case there's another 'blow out'," Rachel answered. No sooner as she had spoken more lightning that was near blinding struck next to the ship. "Oh my god," Rachel whispered.

"What!?"

"This is unreal," Rachel spoke barely above a whisper. "We're caught in the middle of two lightning storms."

"What are you talking about?"

"The waves we're experiencing," Rachel started to explain. "Those must be generated by a volcano going off on the ocean floor. Strong eruptions have been known to create lightning from the blast. Combine that with the clouds above us. We're caught smack in the middle of a lightning storm sandwhich."

"How is that even possible?" Missy demanded. "How can lightning be generated under water? Besides, I thought you said this isn't an area for earthquakes and stuff."

"It's not like fire," Rachel lectured. "Lightning is both very simple and impossible to understand. Water and metal are natural conductors where as wood and rubber are not."

"So why haven't we been fried yet?"

"I shut off the generators," Rachel answered. "If they had been struck by lightning the back lash between the natural electricity could have over-loaded the system. We would have been stuck swimming to land. Considering the amount of lightning hitting the ocean and what's going on below, we wouldn't live to tell the tale. Fried or boiled, that would be our end. As to why we're not being electrocuted while on a metal ship... All ships are equipped with lightning blocks. A rubber layer was placed between the hull of the ship and the interior. The lightning rod directs the lightning it's struck by back out into the ocean."

"So we're floating on a rubber boat?"

"You're over simplifiying it," Rachel shook her head. "Think of the rubber as being twenty times stronger or more than the type used on vehicle tires. You'll have a rough idea of it's durability at that point."

"But what if..."

"Hold on a second," Rachel cut her off. "Do you hear that?"

"I don't hear anything."

"Steve, are you there?" The helmsman didn't answer the call, even though he had just been right next to Rachel. "Marie? Hasif?" Rachel moved her head up and slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was dotted with black spots, but clear enough to look around the bridge. Only she and Missy were there, kneeling close or laying on the floor. Rachel's vision narrowed on Steve's last known spot. The flooring was lighter in color then the rest, like it had been painted a lighter color. Looking towards Missy she saw a similar spot nearby. A third spot was just in front of the doorway.

The lightning had stopped and the clouds were rolling away, the sun peeking through. Rachel's vision was slowly starting to clear. She went to the spot closest to her. She went to touch it, but felt an enormous amount of heat. She knew the metal was too hot then to touch. "I think the storm's past," she whispered.

Missy poked her head from the consol she had ducked under. "That's great and all, but I still can hardly see a damned thing."

"It'll take a minute," Rachel agreed. She squinted her eyes and went back to the breaker. She started hitting switches and began to warm the generator back up. She continued to move the different switches into the off position. It didn't take long for the generator since it wasn't off for that long to begin with. Rachel hit the start button. A green light appeared showing that the generator started without a problem.

The first area Rachel restored power to was the bridge. The systems blinked back on and began the checking process. Rachel waited a few seconds between each section of the ship to restore power. She wasn't willing to over load the ship in her haste to check the status or search for the rest of the crew.

When the last switch was pulled she made her way over to the satellite system. Rachel's brow furrowed as the screen was blank. She checked the power running to it. Finding nothing wrong she restarted the system. After power came back it was still blank. Rachel moved and checked the GPS radar. That was blank as well.

"It looks like we're calling a close to the mission," Rachel sighed.

"Really!?" Missy asked excitedly. "Ahem, I mean... Really? That's too bad."

"Yeah," Rachel rolled her eyes. "I bet you're just choked up about this." Rachel went to the communication system. As she sat down she flipped an orange switch.

"What was that?" Missy asked.

"It was the tracking device," Rachel answered. "It's activations alerts the closest US base that we've come across complications and are about to break radio silence." She then picked up the radio mic. "All hands return to the bridge." The intercom rang throughout the ships.

"How did those three even move with all the rocking?" Missy asked in wonder. "I guess you sailors really know how to handle unpredictable waves." The two waited for a few minutes before Missy looked to Rachel. "Where are they?"

"Go and check the ship," Rachel ordered. "I'll try to get in contact with any nearby vessels. If any are hurt we need to get them medical attention fast."

"Isn't that what Hasif is for?"

"And if he's the one hurt?"

"Going to look for the others," Missy departed.

Rachel put a headset to her ears and started fiddling with the dials. "This is the USS Harbinger breaking radio silence. Are there any US boats or allies in the area?" Rachel was met with only silence. "Can anyone read me?" She waited a few moments and there was still no response. She continued to call for help, giving distressed codes and trying different channels. She was in the middle of her sixth try when Missy returned.

"Let me have a look," Missy suggested. Rachel moved out of the way and Missy began to open the panels. With the clouds clearing it grew steadily brighter. This allowed Missy to be able to see where everything was.

"Any sign of the others?" Rachel asked.

"None," Missy's distracted reply came. Rachel glanced back at the pale spots on the floor.

"There's nothing wrong here," she finally stated. Missy stood up straight and looked at Rachel in confusion.

While Missy had been doing that Rachel took out a pair of binoculars and started looking out to the ocean around the ship. It was her hope that the three had somehow been knocked over board and were floating close by. She paused and stared at the sight in front of her. Missy had come up to stand next to her. "What's up?"

"None of this makes any sense," Rachel handed the binoculars to Missy. "There's a stretch of land out there. But there's no way that storm could have blown us anywhere near land in such a short amount of time."

"Could it be a new island from the volcano?" Missy suggested. She started getting a good look from the binoculars. She didn't notice Rachel giving her the 'are you an idiot' look. Missy slowly lowered her hands and looked sheepish. "Nevermind, there's too much green plant life."

Rachel went to the under water radar and activated it. "This makes absolutely no sense," she growled.

"What is it this time?"

"The radar under us shows that the depth here isn't as vast. We can comfortably lower the anchor with no issue."

"Figures with an island so close."

"We're going to get closer," Rachel narrowed her eyes. She turned on the engine and began to make for the island. "Some systems are down, but the life saving ones are active. What in the world is going on?"

"We've been abducted by aliens." Rachel slowly turned her head to look at Missy. The sheer malice in her eyes caused Missy to shiver. "Okay, bad joke. But come on, it totally fit with the myth of the Triangle. Plus, the pale spots."

"I'm not going to justify that with a response." Rachel let out a scoff as she directed her attention back to steering the ship. "I am a little surprised that you noticed the spots though." An indignant 'hey' sounded. A half hour into the trip and Rachel shut the engine down. "I'll take the smaller raft from here," she announced. "I don't want to risk this ship being discovered by anyone outside of the US." She hit the lever that lowered the anchor.

"So you're going to take a boat just to walk the whole island and hopefully come across something that might resemble civilization?" Missy asked. "Or even our missing crew?"

"Don't be absurd," Rachel started to walk into the ship. "The military raft has a platform on it and it's strong enough to carry a large load. I'll be taking the ATV with me. While I search for the others."

"Why do I even bother? At least tell my why you plan to go alone."

"Someone has to stay and watch the ship," Rachel answered. "If you need to protect the ship guns aren't allowed on the bridge."

"You're kidding me."

"Too many delicate instruments," Rachel shook her head. "Just make sure to keep the fight off the bridge."

"That's not very reassuring," Missy snapped. "Not to mention you're still going alone."

"Not entirely," Rachel corrected. "There's a recon drone attached to the back of the ATV. You can keep an eye on me with it from the control system on the bridge."

"Oh yeah," Missy let out a grin. "I forgot about that." She blinked and narrowed her eyes. "Then why don't we send that out to get a look at the location?"

"Because the battery will likely run low before we can get it back to the ship," Rachel answered. "I would rather one of us actually be on the island with it. If we're going to go that far, I might as well do the looking myself instead of using it's power and possibly alerting the authorities of spies."

"But that's what it's here for," Missy pointed out. "It's spy equipment."

"That wasn't built for stealth," Rachel pointed out. "The stealth drones weren't given to this ship because our mission wasn't to check the stealth capabilities. We were supposed to check on how well the research aspect and solar energy would work together."

"Fine, I'll be waiting to hear from you."

Rachel took a radio and turned the dial. "I set it to channel five. I'll keep it off unless I need to contact you. You, on the other hand, keep checking to make sure I'm not trying to call."

"Yes Ma'am," Missy mock saluted.

"Brat."

Rachel began to make preparations for launching the landing raft. First she moved the ATV into the center of the raft, behind the steering console, using a set of ramps designed to raise and lower the ATV as it drove over them. Rachel the set the ramps towards the back. She secured the vehicle, ramps and a set of crane cables in place before going to a remote set by a crane system. Rachel pushed the 'open' button on the remote. A portion of the wall shifted outward. Two panels then moved in opposite directions, leaving a large enough opening for Rachel to lower the raft.

Using the remote, Rachel manipulated the crane to lift the raft and move it out the opening. From there, the strong cables gently lowered the raft into the water. At the base of the docking bay doors was a ladder built into the hull of the ship. Rachel used these to lower herself into raft the while she carried the remote for the crane in her teeth. Once in the raft, Rachel unhooked the four crane cables attached to it. Two on either side in the front and back. Once the raft was free Rachel used the remote to retract the cables and shift the crane to where it was in the ship once again. By pressing the 'close' button, Rachel closed the two panels that opened for the raft. Once they were closing Rachel tossed the remote back into the ship before it was too late. "I have to teach that girl how to handle the crane."

Rachel stood infront of the steering wheel. She looked behind as she lowered the engines propellers down into the water. Once it was fully lowered Rachel started the engine. She waved to Missy who stood on deck and headed off for the island. It took her less than five minutes to get to an abandoned beach.

When she was close enough Rachel turned off the engine and raise it. The raft was still coming up to a beach quickly. Turning the wheel, Rachel beached the raft at an angle. To make sure the water wouldn't carry the raft away she dropped a small anchor and tied it to the edge with a very small amount of slack. She then set about to bringing the ATV onto the beach. Once that was finished she put the ramps back into the raft and tied them down. "That's a lot of work," she grossed.

Rachel stood up and took a look at her surroundings. There really wasn't much in the way a wildlife. Taking the keys to the ATV in hand, she walked up to the tree line. She walked along the perimeter and soon found a well worn trail. "Now that's interesting," she mumbled. Doing a check of the area and time Rachel followed it.

After following the trail for a few minutes, Rachel found herself on the outskirts of a town. With a bewildered gaze she walked the town. Some people were staring at her as well. "Could it be the blue camo navy uniform?" she asked herself with a grin. "Nope." She quickly found the harbor and wondered why she didn't see it coming in. She went onto a dock and walked past a large, old-fashioned, blue ship with a seagull painted on the flag and sails. Rachel stared at the ship, wondering how such an old fashioned ship was here.

When Rachel passed the ship she saw that an outcropping of rocks had blocked not only their sight of the village and dock, but also blocked the village from seeing their ship. "Works for me," she let out a laugh. She turned around to explore more of the town.

A crowd was gathered in the town square. Rachel noted that a lot of people were dressed in both modern and old fashioned clothing. "This just keeps getting more and more strange." A tall man in a sailor uniform stood on a platform in front of a type of military base.

"Quiet down everyone!" he called out. He held up what Rachel could only describe as a Wild West Wanted Poster. "We have reason to believe that this criminal has gone into hiding in the forest just outside of town! The reward for his capture is twelve thousand Beli."

"What the hell is a beli?" Rachel asked herself. "The Triangle is in US controlled waters so there shouldn't be any other currency besides the US Dollar or a Paso at most."

The man continued talking, failing to notice the reactions of the people around him. Some were scared while others were eager for a hunt. "A man hunt will begin at dawn tomorrow. The first person or team to bring him in will receive extra beli as a prize. Of course, this means that he has to be brought in alive. If not you will receive a drastic cut in the reward. That is all until the morning." The sailor stepped off the platform and into the building.

"What is the deal?" Rachel asked herself. She looked up to the sun and judged that there was a good amount of time to the day left. With a hand to her chin she walked back down the path to the beach. She never noticed a set of dark eyes following her.

Rachel stepped onto the sand and hit her walkie talkie. "I need a favor," she started.

"Hello there CO," Missy's sarcasm dripped through the device. "Everything is fine on the ship, thanks for asking. You're doing good too? Fantastic."

"Cut the crap," Rachel snapped. "I need you to take the clamps off of the chopper."

"YOU NEED ME TO DO WHAT!?"

"You heard me, you're not blind."

"APPARENTLY I AM! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU NEED THAT DEATH TRAP FOR!?"

"I'm going scouting."

"I thought that's what you were doing."

"I need it on a much larger scale. I'm coming in with the raft."

"So you have to load the whole thing into the ship after you just got it out?"

"No, I'm only going to tie it off to the side. I plan on coming back to the island after I do a quick run with the chopper."

"You're kind of freaking me out," Missy admitted. "What's going on?"

"I really don't think we're in Kansas anymore." Rachel's statement was met with silence. As she waited for Missy to find her brain again she pulled the anchor free and set it in the raft. She then pushed the raft back into the water. She wasn't going to bother taking the time to load the ATV back up. Once the raft drifted deep enough she lowered the engine and was once again speeding across the water.

Back at the Harbinger, Rachel tossed the rope up to the deck. Missy caught it and pulled it as close as she could. Once she tied it off she lowered a 'rope' ladder from the deck. Rachel quickly climbed it and headed for the rear of the ship. "You took off the clamps like I asked you to?"

"I got it done," Missy agreed. "But what the hell is going on?"

"I found a town on that island," Rachel admitted. "But they use a form of currency I had never heard of before."

"Wouldn't that be because it's Puerto Rico?" Missy asked. "The Triangle is practically right above it?"

"That makes even less sense," Rachel rolled her eyes. "While they're not a state, Puerto Rico is close enough to the US that it uses the standard USD, not currency I heard about in that town."

"What does that town use?" Missy asked curiously.

"They called it Beli." Rachel climbed into the chopper and seated herself in the pilots seat.

"What the hell is that?" Missy asked.

Rachel started the engine and turned to look at Missy. "Unless you want to get a crash course in wind exposure I suggest getting back to the bridge." Rachel's voice got louder as the engine started moving faster. Missy raced to the bridge and to the communications board. It was the only way they would be able to talk at this point.

"Can you read me?" Rachel's voice asked. She just put on her headphones and mic.

"Loud and clear," Missy answered.

"I need you to control the camera on the belly," Rachel answered. "I'll be too busy trying to keep this bird from getting too close to the locals. It's bad enough that they'll be able to hear it."

"Won't you be too high for the camera?"

"It's has a high zooming feature with top of the line resolution," Rachel answered. "It should be fine. But I need to concentrate on keeping away from the town."

"What if there's someone in the forest?"

"Not worried about him."

"Whatever you say."

Rachel manuevered the chopper away from the ship. She picked up speed and height the further she moved away from the ship and island. "Hey girl, you're going the wrong way."

"It was deliberate," Rachel answered. "I'm trying to gain enough altitude before going over the island."

"By the computer's standard, you're almost there."

"I can see that," Rachel rolled her eyes. "I've been flying a helicopter for a week before we left on the mission."

"Oh, why didn't you say that? ARE YOU CRAZY!? What makes you think that you're qualified for combat missions with so little experience?"

"This isn't combat related," Rachel answered. "At least, I hope that it's not. It's just fly around, take some pictures and land. Nothing to it really."

"Now I understand why you wanted me to control the camera," Missy groaned. "If you die I'm telling your mom. She'll bring you back from the dead, kill you again and then kill me for letting you do this."

"Shut up and start taking pictures."

It took less than ten minutes to fly around the island and get the pictures needed. When it came to the village, Missy managed to get the camera to take a picture at an angle. Rachel returned to the ship without too much trouble. The landing was a little off center, but the cables and clamps were long enough that it didn't matter if the landing wasn't perfect. Back on the bridge Rachel and Missy were examining the digital pictures. They were comparing them to islands they knew were close to Florida and Puerto Rico.

"It doesn't match any of them," Missy growled. "We should think about expanding our search." She then pulled up other islands from a downloaded world map. Some islands were similar, but none were that small with a village and a harbor. Not to mention the combination of the rock outcropping to hide the harbor.

Rachel started shaking her head and laughing. "What's so funny?" Missy demanded.

"We're total idiots," Rachel said. "Where were we when the storm hit?"

"That's a trick question right?"

"What is the Triangle known for?" Missy went deadly silent at the question. "Exactly my point," Rachel nodded. "What ever happens to the ships and planes that disappear, I think that just happened to us. So we have two major concerns at this point. What happened to the others and how do we get back home? Unless we can't get home."

"You're not saying we're dead are you?" Missy felt the pain in the back of her head before she registered Rachel had moved her hand. "Okay, this hurts too much to be heaven."

"There's plenty of theories about it," Rachel said. "There's just never been any solid proof. It's possible that we're in a different dimension or even world. But why didn't the others come as well?"

"Different genes?" Missy ducked when Rachel took another swing. "So what do you suggest we do?" Missy crossed her arms over her chest like nothing happened.

"We need information," Rachel plotted. "To get information we need money."

"Plan on getting a second job?" Missy teased. Her eyes then widened. "Oh I am so suing the navy for this fubar."

"I do have a plan," Rachel ignored the last outburst. "Tonight we'll hold a ceremony for Steve, Marie and Hasif. The traditional MIA at sea. If there's a possibility they survived then I won't hold a sea funeral. Then there's a manhunt going on in the forest outside that village tomorrow. I'm going to take part in it and you're going to help."

"I'm not trudging through the forest," Missy objected.

"No, you're flying over it."

"Hell no."

"The drone."

"Okay then, yeah."


	3. Manhunt

I make no money off of this work of fiction. One Piece and it's characters are the work of Oda Eiichiro. The speech Rachel gives towards the beginning of the chapter is from the POW/MIA Ceremony for the Missing Man Table. These are traditions upheld by the men and women serving in the US Military. I have a lot of respect for our soldiers and pray that you come home safe. Those that don't are remembered by their families and peers.

 **Harbinger**

Chapter Two: Manhunt

"What are we doing Big Bro?" a male voice asked. Three men were walking down a worn path next to the village. "There's nothing out here."

"Yosaku has a point," another spoke. "We should just go back to town and plan out a strategy to catch that guy before anyone else."

"I saw something strange earlier," the last man admitted. "Back during the marine announcement for that bounty. A woman wearing strange clothes was there. She was listening to the marine with an odd expression on her face."

"Big Bro Zoro likes a girl!?" the other two said in shock.

"It's not like that you morons," Zoro snapped. "If her clothing wasn't odd enough, when the reward was mentioned she looked like she had no idea what he was talking about." A hand suddenly stopped Zoro from going further. He looked back, an angry fire in his eyes. "What is it now Johnny!?" he snapped.

Johnny pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "The path is back this way bro," Johnny grinned.

"I knew that," Zoro dodged. "I was just checking the area."

"Right," Yosaku nodded his head. "You're so cool big bro! Worrying about our well being like that, even when we're so close to town." Tears started to stream down his face. Johnny joined him in his theatrics. Zoro looked at both of them in confusion with a sweat drop rolling off of his forehead. The sound of a bell tolling drew their attention. There was first one ring. The echo lasted for a moment. Once the echo finished a second tone rang. Again the echo lasted for a moment. Once it was finished a third bell tone resounded. This time, however, when the echo dissipated there wasn't another ring. The men started to head towards the sound of the ringing towards the ocean.

What should have been a ten minute walk turned into a two hour one. Finally the three were able to hear the sound of the ocean's waves. The men crouched behind some bushes and moved the leaves to the side. In front of them was a medium sized beach. There were no living creatures that they could see. "What is that thing Big Bro?" Johnny asked. He was pointing to a strange structure that had four wheels on it and what looked like handles. The rest was hard for them to describe or even comprehend.

"I don't know," Zoro admitted.

"Look out into the water Bro," Yosaku suggested. He was staring hard towards the water. "There's a huge boat out there. Looks like it could be a marine boat." Both Zoro and Johnny looked towards the water. In the distance they could see the boat that Yosaku described. "It's weird though," Yosaku continued. "The mast seems to be a bit large."

"I'm not sure that's a mast," Johnny tilted his head to the side. "It looks way too wide. Not to mention I don't see any place where the sails could be."

"Quiet you two," Zoro shushed them. He spotted a smaller boat leave the main one and start heading in their direction. It took a few minutes, but the boat got close enough for the three to make out what or who was in it. "That's the woman I saw earlier," Zoro pointed out.

*One Hour Ago, Aboard Nunya*

Rachel and Missy stood on the deck of The Harbinger. Rachel stood at the edge of the rail while Missy stood slightly behind with a radio. A copper bell had been put up on the side of the ship that was facing east. At Rachel's signal Missy turned on the radio and Taps sounded. "Those who have served and those currently serving the uniformed services of the United States are ever mindful that the sweetness of enduring peace has always been tainted by the bitterness of personal sacrifice. We are compelled to never forget that while we enjoy our daily pleasures, there are others who have endured and may still be enduring the agonies of pain, deprivation and internment." Rachel's voice across the deck. "We call them comrades. They are unable to be with their loved ones and families tonight, so we join together to pay our humble tribute to them, and bear witness to their continued absence. Let us pray to the supreme commander that all of our comrades will soon be back within our ranks. Let us remember and never forget their sacrifices. May god forever watch over them and protect them and their families."

"The ship's Helmsman, Steven Sollensberg." She rung the bell once. "Chief Engineer Marie Bower." Once the echo finished she rung the bell a second time. "Ships physician Hasif Bana." When the chime from the second bell cleared she rang the bell a third time. This time both women lowered their heads as the echo rang through the air.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel rose her eyes to the horizon. She turned and looked at Missy. "Now we need to work on our strategy." The two then headed back inside.

Rachel and Missy were sorting the pictures taken by the helicopter. Missy had downloaded them into the ships main computer. They were in the captain's quarters, so Rachel's room, and looking at her over-sized computer screen. Missy was arranging the pictures in order they were taken while also trying to form them into the image of the island. Once she was satisfied that she had an accurate rendition of the island she combined the image and saved it. "If we had internet I could send this to your email," Missy complained.

Rachel rolled her eyes and handed Missy a flash drive. "Just load it onto this," she spoke in agitation. "It's a lot more secure then sending sensitive data across the information super highway anyway." Missy snatched the data storage device and plugged it into the computer. She transferred the image to the flash drive. "I also want another kind of view of this image," Rachel added. "I'm sure the computer is capable of it, it's military issue after all. I want an image that shows hill incline compared to water level as well as possible pitfalls and the like that might hinder the ATV. Can you do that?"

Missy started humming as she typed a few commands into the computer. The image of the island was replaced. The shape remained the same, but the island was filled in with different colors ranging from blue at the islands edge to green and then yellow. "So as you can see blue is just above sea level," Missy explained. "The color range of this system is fairly simple to understand. There's basically five colors to work with. Blue being the lowest, then green, yellow, orange and red being the highest level. The altitudes are pre-set into the system so it's no surprise this island doesn't reach as high as it's programmed to."

"Any chances of pitfalls?"

"Sadly the system isn't designed for that," Missy shook her head. "I just can't figure that one out with the one type of picture that was taken. This image is based off an average. If you want that kind of detail we'll have to use a thermal scan."

"Too time consuming and too conspicuous," Rachel shook her head.

"Like flying over the island in the helicopter wasn't?" Missy teased.

"I avoided the island's village," Rachel defended.

"Doesn't mean that they couldn't hear you."

"Oh I know they heard me," Rachel smirked. "They just weren't able to do a damn thing about it. The fort here looks like it's built for an attack coming from sea. There's no chance they're set up with anti-aircraft weapons. Advantage, us."

"Advantage, you," Missy disagreed. "You're not getting me into that glorified, flying death trap." Rachel just shrugged her shoulders. No skin off of her back.

"But suggesting the thermal scan gave me an idea," Rachel smirked. Missy gave a shudder as she prayed for the poor soul on the receiving end of Rachel's plan. "How late do you think you can stay up tonight?"

"That all depends on what you want," Missy crossed her arms.

"I need you to operate the drone," Rachel answered.

"We were already planning on that."

"No, no," Rachel shook her head. "I mean in the dead of night. That criminal is bound to be expecting hunters tomorrow. So he'll be up to something today or tonight. I want thermal images from the drone to show me where the animals usually are, their travel patterns and if it can spot a human rummaging through the trees. Where is the human and what do they appear to be doing? If they are laying traps, I want to be able to angle around them and capture the bounty by surprise. The ATV will go a long way into getting me to the prey faster than anyone else and getting him back to the village before anyone else has a chance to steal him out from under me. Or for him to find a convenient escape route."

Rachel walked to the cabinet and pulled out a rifle. She started rummaging through the ammo drawer. With a sigh, she shut the drawer and put the rifle back. "What was that all about?" Missy asked.

"I was hoping I could use the tranquilizer gun."

"Those are for rampaging wild animals."

"You're point?"

"I worry about you sometimes." Missy saved the new image to the flash drive as well, trying hard not to laugh. She safely ejected the device and handed it to Rachel. "Just don't go and blow up the island."

"You're no fun."

*Present*

Rachel approached the beach once again. This time she had the boat loaded with camping supplies and food rations for a few days, just in case. As she approached the beach she angled the boat and cut the engine. She raised the engine so that sand wouldn't get stuck in the system as she bottomed out.

As she jumped out of the boat, Rachel had a pack on her shoulders. She strode up to the ATV and placed the pack against it. She then returned to the boat and set the anchor so that it wouldn't drift away. "Time to set up camp," she said to herself.

The three men watched in silence as the woman landed the boat. She set a pack against the strange structure they noticed earlier before anchoring the boat. They continued to watch as she walked back and forth from the strange object sitting on the sand to the boat she had arrived in. Johnny and Yosaku kept glancing between the woman and Zoro. Zoro, on the other hand, was concentrating on the actions of the woman. He wanted to know what she was up to. Besides her use of several objects they had never seen before, the woman did nothing except set up a camp.

The sun was starting to set when Johnny put a hand on Zoro's shoulder. "We should head back big bro," he said. He was pointing his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the path. "We still need to rent a room for the night." Yosaku was nodding his head in a sage-like manner.

Zoro glanced back to the beach. The woman from before had entered the vivid blue tent and closed the opening. It was indication enough that she had called in for the night as well. Zoro nodded and followed the other two for the long walk back to town.

Johnny and Yosaku were walking through the town's square. "It didn't take as long to get back," Yosaku pointed out. "Right big bro?" The two looked behind them towards Zoro. The two stopped short when they finally realized they were one swordsman short.

"This is awful," Johnny put his hands on his head. He was about ready to pull out his hair in panic. Yosaku was running around the buildings, looking for Zoro with a sense of urgency. "WHAT ARE WE GONNA DOOOOOO!?"

The next morning Rachel was back in the town square just after dawn. There was a gathering of bounty hunters. All of them were oddly dressed if you asked Rachel for her opinion. Who wore metal arm bracers anymore? Rachel shook her head clear of the distraction. It didn't take long for a marine to take the stage. The very idea that the soldiers here considered themselves marines was laughable to Rachel. The Marines back home would chew these clowns up and spit them out.

"The bounty is first come, first serve." The 'marine' was shouting to the crowd. Rachel wondered to herself if these people had ever heard of a microphone and speaker. "The first to bring the wanted criminal in gets the bounty. Whatever method you use is up to you. The poster states 'Dead or Alive'. Just remember, the full bounty is only received if the prisoner is still alive. When the gun goes off, then the hunt begins."

Rachel had her hands in her pockets, looking way past bored. A commotion on the outskirts of the crowd drew her attention. Two men were pacing back and forth, looking at the faces of the people gathered. One wore sun glasses with a tatoo on his cheek. He had messy black hair. The other had shaggy blonde hair and looked unshaven. The look of missing hygiene had Rachel twitching her nose in distaste. There was nothing worse then an unkept appearance.

The sound of a gun going off drew Rachel's attention. The crowd broke apart and started rushing for the forest. The two frantic men were easily plowed over in the stampede. One large and beefy woman tried to push past Rachel in the same manner. Rachel's hand hovered over her holster as she glared at the only other woman gathered. The woman took the hint for what it was. The smaller woman would not be pushed without a fight. Given the competition of the men, it wasn't worth the other woman's time.

It was only after the crowd disappeared into the trees that Rachel made her move. She walked up to the two men twitching on the ground. "What is wrong with you two?" she asked. She helped the one with glasses to his feet. "Letting yourselves get cowed over like that isn't going to win any points in this hunt."

"We're looking for Big Bro," Glasses admitted. "He went missing last night. We've been up all night looking and there's no trace. We were hoping he made it back and was with the rest of the bounty hunters."

"I wouldn't put it past someone from that bunch to try to 'off' the competition," Rachel shrugged. She started to head in the opposite direction the crowd went. "You might want to keep an eye out for his body."

"NOT OUR BIG BRO!" Shaggy yelled. He jumped to his feet and looked angry. Glasses looked just as angry standing next to him. "Our bro is the greatest swordsman that has ever lived! He won't be done in by one of those weaklings!"

Rachel shrugged as she kept walking. She stopped when the 'marine' called out to her. "I thought you were participating," he commented.

"I am," Rachel nodded her head.

"But you're going the wrong way," he continued. "Not to mention that the others have a significant lead on you."

"I'm well aware of the disadvantage I face at the moment." Rachel turned back to him with a smirk. "But I have an ace in my sleeve. I'll be back in less than an hour with the mark to collect the bounty." She returned to walking towards the beach, not bothering to check the stunned expressions of the three men.

Rachel was walking across the sand as she put a hand to the ear hidden under her hair. "You awake yet?" she asked.

Rachel could a hear a voice talking directly in her ear. "You've got some nerve talking to me like that! You kept me up half the night gathering intel, then expect me to wake up at the crack of freaking dawn!?"

"Don't get bitchy with me," Rachel rolled her eyes. "Besides, you have access to a generous supply of coffee while I'm left with water. I'd really quit complaining if I was you or I'll hide the black treasure."

"So the drone is fully charged again and ready for action."

"That's what I thought," Rachel laughed a little. "Go ahead and launch the thing." She started putting a helmet on. The drone took off from the back of the ATV just then. Once it was clear Rachel turned on the ATV and swung a leg over. "Lead the way Missy," she said. "Just don't lead me to a place the ATV can't roll through."

"I'm on it." The drone took off into the trees. Rachel revved the engine and rushed after the small remote craft. As she drove through the thick brush at the edge of the forest she hunched closer to the ATV to avoid getting scratched by branches and thorns. Once she was past the brush that blocked the beach from the rest of the island the trees were more spaced out. This allowed the ATV to go at a faster speed.

Missy guided the drone in the general direction where the activity from the night before showed the most likely suspect. She made sure to keep one eye on the Drone's camera screen and another on the map. She needed to make sure that she didn't accidentally lead Rachel into a trap. She marked likely traps red on the map. It was a longer route, avoiding possible danger and fallen trees, but the speed would make up for it.

Halfway up the largest hill on the island Missy made the drone hover. Rachel stopped the ATV just under it. "You should be directly behind the mark," Missy spoke. "Any closer and we risk him hearing your engine. So he's still a fair distance away."

Rachel turned off the engine and removed her helmet. As she dismounted she grabbed an assault rifle strapped to it and a bat. The drone moved closer to land on the ATV. "You brought B.O.B.? Why did you bring Bob?"

An evil smirk spread across Rachel's lips. "Because he's more quiet than a gun."

"Ask a stupid question..."

Zoro was walking through the trees, looking left and right. "Where did those two morons run off to?" he demanded. "They've already started the bounty contest and I'm stuck looking for them. How could they have gotten lost anyway? We were just going back to town."

Zoro stopped in his tracks when he heard a strange noise. It was nothing like he had ever heard before. Zoro decided to check it out. He started in the direction it was coming from only to stop and realize it was getting louder. Zoro then ducked behind a tree so that he could catch this strange thing by surprise.

Zoro tilted his head around the tree just far enough to see. His eyes widened in shock when a large, oddly shaped bug came into view. It stopped where it was and seemed to do absolutely nothing except fly. As this was going on, the noise Zoro had been concentrating on grew impossibly loud. All of the sudden the strange object that had been on the beach with the equally strange woman rolled up to the 'big ass bug'.

Zoro watched in silence as the noise died away. The woman took off the helmet on her head then got off of the object, bringing a gun and a wooden bat with her, the bug moved to land on the back of where she had been sitting. Zoro continued to watch as he questioned her sanity from the seemingly one sided conversation. "Because he's more quiet than a gun." The woman had a smirk on her face as she lightly hit the palm of her left hand with the bat.

Zoro watched the woman as she worked around the thing she rode in on. A compartment in the back opened and she pulled out a sturdy fabric attached by flat rope. (For those that don't know, it's an industrial grade tarp connected to towing lines). The woman started putting what looked like hand cuffs into a large pocket in the side of her pants. But the size of the cuffs confused Zoro. The standard cuffs the marines used were more than twice the size of the ones she put in her pocket. He didn't see how they would be useful in keeping a prisoner locked up.

"I need another favor," the woman spoke again. Zoro froze, thinking for a second that she was talking to him. "Launch the drone again. I want to know how far the closest hunter is so I know what kind of time table I'm working with." There was a long pause as she seemed to listen. "Well, once I knock him out I'll have to drag him back to the ATV. That or bring the ATV to him. Depending on how much time I'm working with will factor into that decision."

The strange bug took to the air again and flew away the same direction it came. "I'm much obliged to you." The woman started sneaking though the trees. Zoro rounded the tree in a way to keep it between the two of them so he wouldn't be seen. Her behavior and gear were just so unreal. He wanted to know what she planned to do with it. He followed her once he was sure she wouldn't notice him coming out of hiding.

Rachel found the clearing after a five minute walk. Between the foilage and rough terrain, dragging an unconscious adult male was going to be a pain. She was hoping that the other bounty hunters were far enough away that she wouldn't have to worry about it and could just leave him there while she went back for the ATV. She ducked behind some bushes as she surveyed the area. Stealth was never her strongest subject, but she wasn't about to make it easy to be spotted. Her eyes shifted as they surveyed the clearing. No one was out there.

"Are you sure this is the spot?" Rachel whispered. "I don't see anyone."

"It's got to be the place," Missy's voice answered. "I checked and rechecked the readings and scans from last night. He's holed up there somewhere."

Rachel blinked as the phrase caused an epiphany. "'Holed up'?" Rachel scanned the clearing again, this time looking for anything that looked out of place. A strange lump in the middle of the clearing drew her attention. The color almost matched the tall, dry grass except for the fact that it looked wilted. It was almost as if someone pulled that top layer of soil up, cutting the plant roots off from receiving any type of nutrients at all.

Rachel pulled Bob out to the ready. She rubbed the logo, 'Louiseville Slugger', fondly as she readied herself. As quietly as she could, Rachel approached the lump. Knowing that the hunters would be coming from the town she reasoned that the mark was facing that same direction. Since she had traveled further uphill to come up from behind the head was the farthest part from her. The tricky part would be to get in a position where she could hit him without alerting him to her presence.

Rachel had just made it to where she suspected the waist was when the lump shifted. She looked towards the 'head' to see eyes staring at her from under the makeshift camo blanket. Rachel dropped Bob and reached for her gun. Stealth had failed her, now it was time to use intimidation.

Before Rachel could raise her weapon the dirt in front of her exploded outward as the mark leapt to his feet. Rachel flinched back, dirt getting into her eyes. 'Note to self: wear safety glasses next time', she thought. 'If there is a next time.' She flinched as a strong grip took hold of her right wrist and started to squeeze.

As soon as the attack started, it was over. Rachel blinked rapidly to clear her eyes. There was a blurry brown image on the ground in front of her. A rapidly growing color of red spreading from it. A blurry image of green, light brown and white got into her vision. Rachel could feel her canten pulled forcefully from her waist. A hand gripped her chin. It tightened it's grip when she moved to pull back. "Hold still," a deep male voice ordered. Before Rachel could respond she felt water pouring into her eyes.

Rachel's eyes blinked more as she flinched from the sudden feeling. The hand kept her head steady as water continued to pour down. Soon enough the gritty feeling of dirt in her eyes vanished. The water stopped and the hand let go of Rachel's chin. Rachel wiped at her eyes to get the excess water away. "Thank you," she muttered.

For the first time Rachel managed to get a good look at her rescuer. He was tall, much taller than her. Rachel stood to just below his broad shoulders. He had short cut, green hair. A dirty and torn white shirt was his only protection from the elements. On his hip was a single sword in a white sheath. It looked bettter cared for than the man himself. His skin was very tan, speaking of a life out in the open. He was also wearing black pants that were torn to the point of looking like capris and a pair of worn sandals.

Rachel glanced down at the man she had been trying to aprehend. "Did you kill him?" she asked.

The man in front of her looked down as well. "He's just weak," the man answered. "I got him in the shoulder and he was out."

Rachel looked back to the man that saved her. His biceps looked like mountains in and of themselves. "I'm sure that there's much more to it than that," she shook her head. "If you put strength behind the blow you could have broken bones. That would have sent him into shock and created the comatose state he's in now. Not that I'm not grateful for the help, but why did you do it?"

"I've been after this guy for a while," the man admitted. "He's the worse kind of scum, a pirate. He's got a long trail of blood and destruction behind him. Couldn't stand the thought of another."

"Fair enough," Rachel nodded. She set the gun down on the ground and put a large knife back into the holster on her left hip.

"You had a knife too?" the man asked in surprise.

"I like to come prepared," Rachel shrugged. "What's your name, by the way?"

"Roronoa Zoro," the man answered.

"Roronoa?" Rachel tilted her head and blinked.

"Just call me Zoro."

Rachel mused that this world must use the family name first, much like certain countries back home. Deciding that it would look wierd if she didn't follow the same suit she introduced herself using the family name first.

"Never heard of the name Rachel before," Zoro pointed out.

"My parents didn't like to be normal," Rachel grinned. She then looked down to the still bleeding man. "We should make sure that the bleeding stops. Otherwise he won't live long enough for us to claim the full reward."

"Us?"

"You planning on claiming it all?"

"Well no," Zoro put a hand behind his head. "I'm just not used to someone willing to share in the bounty."

"You helped take him down," Rachel pointed out. "How long had you been looking for him anyway?"

"I've been out in the forest all night."

"You know that's illegal for the contest that the marines have going on."

"But he was too well hidden for me to find."

"Which means if I hadn't been here you would have blown right by him."

"Probably."

"So I found the mark and you did the grunt work? Sounds like a sound strategy that the marines will believe."

"You make it sound like we were partners in it."

"As far as the marines are concerned," Rachel pointed out. She was down on the ground trying to stop the cut on the shoulder from bleeding further. "Holy smoke, you completely crushed this guys shoulder." Zoro only grunted in response. "Anyway, if the marines find out you were out here all night you would forfeit the bounty. Since we took him down together, we would both forfeit. However, the marine in charge of this took notice of me just before I left the town on the hunt as well."

"Took notice how?" Zoro looked confused.

"In that he thought it was strange I didn't charge into the forest like everyone else," Rachel grinned. "We could use the excuse that I had to get you from your morning run on the beach before we went hunting."

"I guess..." When the bleeding stopped, Rachel put the man's hands behind his back and cuffed him. "I've never seen hand cuffs like that," Zoro stated. "The ones marines use need at least two people to put on prisoners. More if the prisoner struggles. Can they even hold him?"

"They'll get the job done," Rachel stood up. She wiped her brow of sweat. The sun rising caused the tempature to rise drastically in a short time. She pulled off the jacket she had and tied it around her waist. Underneath she had a sleeveless tank that left her belly exposed. The blue camo pants were held up by a belt on her hips. Zoro noted that the jacket had hidden another gun on her hip and two on the under side of her arms.

"Think you can carry him without jarring the wound open?" Rachel looked up to Zoro's eyes. He nodded only once. "Then follow me, I have a way to get back to town quickly without running into other hunters." Rachel turned and walked back the way she came. Zoro hefted the body up and followed.

"Lay him on the tarp," Rachel advised.

"The what?" Zoro asked.

"This thing," Rachel patted the tarp strapped to the back of the ATV. Zoro lowered the body just gently enough not to cause the cut to start bleeding again. Rachel tied the tarp around the prisoner so that he wouldn't fall of in mid transit. She then sat in the seat of the ATV. She patted the spot behind her. "Hop on."

"What is this thing?" Zoro asked.

"It's an All Terrain Vehicle," Rachel said. "Or ATV for short. I used it to get ahead of everyone else and circle around the guy." Zoro got on slowly, hesitant over something so strange and foreign to him. "It runs on solar energy."

"On what?"

"Solar energy, basically power from the sun." Zoro gave her a look like he didn't believe her. Rachel rolled her eyes and gestured to a spot on either side of Zoro's hips. "If you feel like you're going to fall, grab onto those bars to steady yourself. Or just hold onto them the whole trip. I'll try not to go over terrain too rough so you don't get tossed off."

"It's that easy to fall off?"

"Only if you're the passenger and not holding on properly." Rachel's voice was slightly muffled by the helmet she was strapping on.

"And holding the bars is properly?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"There's another way?"

"Sure there is," Rachel started to blush. She was thankful that the helmet hid her face at this point. "But let's just go with this for now." Before Zoro could say anything else Rachel started the engine and took off.

The ATV had just turned around when the drone returned. Rachel glanced at it and back to the path in front of her. She found it strange that Missy wasn't saying anything. "I know you're going to ask," she spoke. The combination of helmet and sound of the engine kept Zoro from hearing her.

In Rachel's ear she finally heard Missy's voice. "Who's the guy riding bitch?"


	4. Plan to Make Money

I make no money off of this work of fiction. One Piece and it's characters are the work of Oda Eiichiro.

 **Harbinger**

Chapter Three: Plan to Make Money

Rachel swerved the ATV at the sudden question. "OI!" Zoro cried out. Before she realized what happened his hands had wrapped around her waist.

"Oh I'm loving this," Missy's voice laughed. "It's not everyday I can get blackmail material on you." Rachel could just imagine that she had the drone either taking pictures or video of the whole event.

Rachel slowed the ATV down and called over her shoulder. "Do you mind letting go?" she asked.

Zoro leaned to the side just enough so both of his eyes were looking at her. "Are you going to keep moving like that?" he challenged.

"It was an accident," Rachel explained. "I promise to endeavor for no future occurances."

Zoro looked like he didn't believe her, but moved his hands back to the bars. Rachel put her full attention forward again. "I think he was disappointed," Missy's voice said. "I've got a nice picture of him looking like a kicked puppy."

"You do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do no..."

"Who are you talking to?" Zoro asked. Missy's laughter came over the bluetooth again.

"Damn you," Rachel growled low enough so only Missy could hear her. "I'm musing on the quickest way back to town," Rachel called back.

"So it was my imagination two women were arguing?"

"He heard me?" Missy squeaked.

"Um..." Rachel couldn't think of anything to say.

"Tell me when we get to town."

It was only another five minutes before Rachel drove the ATV right into town. Missy had the drone swerve away from the ATV and towards the beach. Rachel didn't care anymore if it was a secret or not, but the drone would be harder to explain than the ATV would be. The man behind her was playing mind games and she just wanted this to be over with.

"BIG BRO!"

"Johnny, Yosaku," Zoro acknowledged the two running up to them.

Rachel shut down the ATV and looked to the stunned Marine at the gate. "The two of us caught your man," she announced. "He's alive, but needs medical attention. We'd like our pay asap." The marine jumped to attention and ran inside to get his superior. None of them were expecting anyone to be back so soon.

"You caught the bounty bro?" Yosaku asked.

"The two of us did," Zoro answered. "I saw her getting attacked by him after she found his hiding place. So I put a stop to that."

"You're replacing us bro?" Johnny asked with tears.

"Don't be stupid," Zoro snapped. "It was just convenient timing is all."

"Remember what I said earlier Zoro," Rachel interrupted. "If you want to see that bounty you have to stick to the story."

"What's she talking about bro?" Johnny asked.

Two marines then rushed out of the fort. "I'll explain later," Zoro whispered. "For now just go along with it and don't say anything."

"You two were the ones to catch the pirate?" the marine captain asked.

Rachel opened the tarp to reveal the prisoner. "It's as I told the marine," she answered. Her using that word, marine, in this instance caused a sour taste in her mouth. It felt wrong to use that term for these people. "We've caught him, still alive. But he was injured in the process so he needs medical attention."

"Injured?" the marine knelt down. "He looks lucky that he didn't get cut in half."

Rachel looked towards Zoro at this. Zoro put a finger to his chin and scratched as he looked away. "Yeah, we had a little incident." Rachel shook her head and looked back to the two marines. "I wasn't as careful as I should have been. I was lucky my friend here has incredible instinct. Worst thing I got was sand in the eye." The marine captain accepted this answer.

"What about the other two?" the marine recruit asked. "They've been in town this whole time looking for their friend." He was looking pointedly at the two standing off to the side.

Zoro grit his teeth as he fought for an answer. He didn't need to though. Rachel patted the ATV they rode on. "This is something that I was testing today," she explained. "It doesn't have enough room for everyone so Zoro agreed to come with me for the hunt while we tested it out at the same time. He was supposed to tell the others what the change of plan had been."

Everyone looked at Zoro at that point. "I um, I forgot," Zoro muttered.

Several other marines ran up to help carry the prisoner inside the fort. Once the captain was certain he was inside and still alive he turned to face Rachel and Zoro. He had to drown out Johnny and Yosaku crying in the background. "Since he's in custody and alive you get the full reward," he stated. "Here it is, fifteen thousand beris." He handed the purse over to Rachel and followed his subordinates into the fort.

Rachel turned to Zoro as she counted the money. Finding all of it there, she handed Zoro half of it. "You really helped me out back there," she smiled. "We should team up again some time." Rachel took her money and walked into a nearby shop that was open. The three men just stared at it in confusion.

In the shop, Rachel approached the front desk. "Excuse me, I was hoping you could help me with a few things." She had charming/innocent smile as she addressed the merchant.

"What can I help you with?" An elderly man stood behind the shop desk.

"Do you sell sea maps?"

"Well," the man looked a little confused. "We sell maps of the East Blue, if that's what you're looking for. I'm afraid we don't have much use of maps from the other oceans to actually have them."

"Then what you do have will have to do for now." Rachel waited as the man pulled a map out for her. "I would like to ask one other favor. The man that was turned in for the bounty today, he was a pirate. Do you happen to know his story?"

"It's the same story these days," the man sighed. "Some fool-hardy dreamer trying to become a pirate in hopes of finding Gold Rodgers infamous One Piece."

"I mean, specifically, him. How did he come to be on the island? Where's his ship and the rest of his crew?"

"It's been almost a week now," the merchant reminisced. "There was a big sea battle a little off the cove on the other side of the island. A few of the pirates survived and made it to the island. The marines rounded the lot of them up except the first-mate. He was such a fiercesome opponent that the marines quit trying to capture him. They started shooting to kill. That didn't even seem to work. There's a rumor going around he has some devil in him. Any way, that's when the marines issued the bounty hunt. I'm assuming that you know the rest."

Rachel unfolded the map and looked up. "Could you show me on the map where the battle occured?" The man pointed to a spot on the opposite side of the island where a second cove lay hidden from the town. Rachel leaned over the map. "If the current warnings on this map are accurate," she muttered to herself. Her finger followed an invisible line on the map starting where the battle had been fought. Of course, she was assuming that the dark blue lines drawn in the water represented the current.

Once her finger stopped moving she looked up. "May I borrow your pencil?" She gave a thankful grin when the object was handed over. "Thanks!" Rachel marked the spot on the map where her finger came to a stop. "Also, do you happen to know of any other recent pirate sea battles, either here or nearby?"

The merchant shook his head. "This island is usually pretty quiet," he announced. "That battle was the first big one we've seen in a few years. I can show you where there was one when the pirate era began."

"How long ago was that?" Rachel asked curiosly.

"You got to be kidding me," the merchant was flabbergasted. "You don't know when the pirate era began?"

"I grew up kind of isolated," Rachel explained. She had to come up with an excuse. It was more than obvious this was common knowledge. She needed a reason why she didn't know something so basic. "My parents are eccentric inventors. If it wasn't for my curiosity wanting to know what this world had to offer I would still be on our tiny island, tinkering."

"I get ya," the merchant sighed. "The smaller islands do manage to get cut off from the rest of the world." The man then began explaining what happened regarding the execution of Gold Rodger and the subsequent start of the pirate era.

"So you're saying that the only other pirate/marine battle that happened around here was about twenty years ago," Rachel reasoned. The man nodded his head for confirmation. "I think I'll pass on that one."

"What's the difference?" the man asked.

"The difference is contamination," Rachel answered. "While the most recent battle has only had a week for the water bacteria, sea life and other sendiment to crust on top of the pirate ship, the other one has two decades. It's not worth the effort to try to retrieve anything there. The clean up alone could cost a small fortune."

"You plan on retrieving the pirate ship?" the merchant asked.

"Not at all," Rachel grinned. She rolled up the map and put it in her pocket. "Just their treasure." She strolled out of the building while the merchant was speechless.

Zoro, Johnny and Yosaku were still hanging around the town square. Yosaku toed the contraption Zoro and Rachel rode in on. "You actually rode this?" he asked.

"You saw us," Zoro pointed out.

"Even then," Johnny continued to say. "It's still hard to believe that something like this could move on it's own." He was hunched over it as Yosaku continued to toe at it.

"Well believe it." The two men jumped several feet away from the ATV. Rachel stood in front of them with one hand on her hip. The other hung lazily at her side. Once the two were away Rachel approached the ATV. She placed the rest of the beris securely in her pack and got on. She started it up and headed down the trail towards the beach.

Zoro stared after where she had disappeared. It didn't feel quite right to him leaving things like that. He started walking towards the path. "Where are you going, Big Bro?" Johnny asked.

Zoro turned to look at the two. "I still have questions," he answered. "Between the hunt, attack and getting our money from the marines there wasn't time."

"What would you want to talk about?" Yosaku asked. "You got money for the job, isn't that enough?"

"OF COURSE IT ISN'T!" Zoro snapped. "First of all, I want to know where she comes from. Those things she uses aren't normal for East Blue. I've never even heard of them from any of the other oceans."

"How much do we know of the other oceans to begin with?" Johnny asked. "She could be a spy from West Blue."

"Oh I know!" Yosaku snapped to attention. "I bet she's actually a princess from West Blue and she's on a quest to find true love before her father forces her into an arranged marriage." He took Zoro's hand and started shaking it. "We'll miss you Big Bro!"

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Zoro snapped his hand back to himself. He was seriously starting to worry about Yosaku's sanity.

"Just let us know when the wedding is," Johnny added. Zoro was now worried for the both of them.

"QUIT DAYDREAMING!" Zoro snapped. He started walking again. Johnny and Yosaku ran up, each grabbing an arm. They started dragging him down the path that led to the beach. "OI!"

"We have to take you to her," Yosaku reasoned.

"If we let you go alone you'd never reach her in time," Johnny added. "Then you'll fail her love test."

"What the hell..."

"Her leaving like that was obviously a test of your resolve," Yosaku nodded. "She needs to know that you're commited and willing to fight her family to prove your love to each other."

The three of them broke through the bushes at the same time. "Once you've proven your love can stand up against the odds you'll live happily ever after!" Johnny announced.

"What book have you been reading?" The men looked to see Rachel standing next to her odd lifeboat. The water was splashing against her ankles. The ATV was already in the boat and secured. She walked up to the beach and towards her tent. In a series of practiced moves the tent was down and packed. She shouldered it and headed for the boat once again.

"We know you plan to marry our Big Bro!" Yosaku accused.

Rachel stopped in her trek back to the boat, bare feet getting buried in sand at the sudden halt. She very slowly turned to face the three of them. "Excuse me?" her voice was low and soft, but somehow menacing at the same time.

Laughter could be heard coming from a speaker on the boat. "Way to channel my mom there, Rach."

"Who is that?" Johnny asked. "And where is the transponder snail?"

"Where's the what now?" Rachel was getting more confused by the second. Her stare turned back to Yosaku. "And don't change the subject. What the hell did you mean by us marrying?"

"It's the only reason why Big Bro would abandon us," Yosaku said. He nodded to his own statement. "He wouldn't leave his bros behind unless he found his soul mate."

"Are you high?" the voice from the speaker asked.

"Now's not the time Missy," Rachel seethed.

"I just want to know why he isn't sharing."

"I'll lock up the coffee."

"I'll be good."

"Where is that voice coming from?" Johnny asked.

"Answer the question," Rachel snapped. "What in the flaming hell do you mean by we're getting married?"

"I didn't think princesses swore so much," Yosaku looked confused.

"Locked coffee or not..." Missy's voice came over the speaker again. "What the hell have you been sniffing man!?"

"I'm assuming lead paint," Rachel monotoned. Her expression to the only two men that had been talking was less then pleased. "Who ever said that I was a princess? Just to clear things up, they were lying to you. I'm not a princess at all. In fact, I'm nothing more than a run of a mill CO of a naval vessel."

"Run of the mill, huh?" Missy's voice came again. "Is that what you call the youngest CO on record?"

"You need to zip it," Rachel snapped. "I only opened communications to keep you awake long enough to help me reload the life boat onto the ship's dock."

"I'm beat girl," Missy complained. "Up late last night and up early this morning, by your 'request' I might add. Then you start threatening to steal my precious coffee. I need some type of entertainment and those two guys are funny."

"There's three of them," Rachel stated.

"Wait, what do you mean three?"

"Only two of them have been talking," Rachel pointed out. "If you operated the drone you would see which is which. Black and blonde are the stoners. The third and silent you've already seen." Now that she pointed it out, Rachel had to wonder why Zoro had been quiet this whole time. It was plain as day that his friends were talking about the two of them, but he hadn't risen to their defense. She stared at him in curiosity. His head was bent down and a dark shadow hid his eyes. A severe scowl was etched across his features.

While the two women had been talking, Johnny and Yosaku huddled in front of Zoro. "That must be her cover story," Johnny reasoned. "There's no way that a princess would want to draw attention to herself by admitting she's a princess."

"So there's still hope for Big Bro admitting his love," Yosaku agreed. During their huddle, Zoro's expression had grown darker and darker. Neither of them had noticed the menacing aura build up.

Rachel started to slowly back up from the glowering male. He was impressive in a good mood. Now he looked like he would raize an entire mountain range. Her feet hitting the water went unnoticed by her. It wasn't until she backed into the side of the boat that it drew her attention away from the three men.

"Oi," Zoro said calmly. This caught the attention of Johnny and Yosaku.

"That's no good Bro," Yosaku chastised. "If you want her attention you need to be more confident." Before anything else could be said, the two felt a sharp pain on the top of their heads. They landed face first into the sand.

Zoro started yelling at them as he towered above them. "QUIT DAYDREAMING ABOUT ME!" His fist was shaking as a sign of his rage. "THERE'S NO WAY SHE'S A PRINCESS LOOKING FOR LOVE, AND NO WAY WE'RE GETTING MARRIED JUST BECAUSE YOU TWO SAY WE SHOULD!"

Rachel stood in front of the boat in shock. The man had been cool and collected the whole time she had met him. But for some odd reason these two were able to push the right buttons. Granted, it did take a while for him to lose his temper, but when he did it was like watching a natural disaster. "Remind me not to piss him off," Missy's voice quietly spoke.

"You're not lying there," Rachel whispered back.

"Couldn't help but notice something though," Missy came back. Rachel had a look of worry cross her face. "I noticed that he didn't reject the idea of being in love."

"That's what you took from that?" Rachel rolled her eyes. "It kind of goes without saying. The concussion those two just got should be proof enough of that."

"True, true."

Zoro walked up to where Rachel had stopped. She noticed his approach and hastily threw her tent over and into the boat next to her discarded boots. "You're leaving the island," he stated. He had noticed that the island was completely bare of her strange equipment.

"Got things to do," Rachel answered. "Can't waste mine and my partners time being lazy on a beach. We need money to travel."

"You might want to get out of bounty hunting though." Zoro had a smirk on his face.

"Never planned on making a career out of it," Rachel answered. "This was just a one time deal. I only needed a little cash to begin my ultimate plan of money making."

"Now you've peaked my interest," Missy's voice said. "Out with it girl, what are we doing?"

"Me," Rachel let out a sigh. "I know better than to expect anything out of this plan from you besides tech support."

"What are you talking about?" Zoro and Missy said at the same time.

"JINX! YOU OWE ME A COKE!" Missy then yelled.

"What?" Zoro looked confused.

"Back on subject please," Rachel interrupted. "Besides, I don't think they have coke factories here Miss."

"Damn."

"Anyway," Rachel started to pull the anchor out of the water. "The so called 'marines' here like to sink pirate ships. Pirate ships carry treasure, the little hoarders. So all that treasure gets lost to sea. She may be a prototype, but that ship of mine carries enough gear and salvage equipment to bring that treasure back to the surface."

"Oh I get you," Missy spoke. She finally had been able to put the pieces together. "You intend to dive down to retrieve the treasure. No offense, but I think it might be a little too heavy for you."

"I'll explain the plan in detail more when I'm back on the ship," Rachel put the anchor away. "I'll be there in a minute or two."

"Right, see you soon." The transmission then cut off.

Rachel started to push the boat further out to water. She was surprised to see a pair of tan hands join her own. She looked up to see Zoro's determined face. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Your ship is the only one leaving the area any time soon," Zoro stated. "Not to mention that it sounds like you could use some help in your plan. I'll pay you to let us come along to the next major island."

"Us?" Rachel's head tilted to the side in confusion. Johnny and Yosaku joined in pushing the boat out. "Just great, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb." She was shocked when she felt hands on the bottom of her feet, lifting her out of the water. If she didn't climb into the boat she would have been thrown. "What's the big idea!?" she snapped.

Zoro jumped in next to her while Johnny and Yosaku scrambled in. "The water should be deep enough here," Zoro stated. "We can start rowing to the ship."

Johnny and Yosaku were looking around. "There's a problem with that Bro," Johhny spoke up.

"We can't find the oars," Yosaku finished. Zoro then sported a dumbfounded look.

"Men," Rachel shook her head. "Always wanting to do things the hard way first." She moved to the control tower of the raft. She turned the key into the 'on' position. She then hit the switch that began to lower the engine deeper into the water. Johhny and Yosaku held onto each other in fright. "Relax you big babies," Rachel sighed. "You're just witnessing modern engineering at work." Once the engine was lowered she started the engine, startling the two even more. The most reaction out of Zoro was the widening of his eyes. "You all might want to hold onto something secure." Rachel let a smirk appear on her face. "I don't swing around for dumped cargo." She then pushed the throttle down all the way quickly as she turned the wheel away from the beach. The boat shot off across the water. The last thing the island heard were two men screaming for their lives.


	5. On the Ship

**AN: So this update is later than my planned day. Usually I try to update on the 11th of the month. However, during the time I was supposed to update my grandpa was in the hospital. He was in for a few weeks before they sent him home, so he could pass in comfort. My grandpa passed in his sleep. So it's been hectic and busy with my family. Visiting and planning the funeral. I was busy helping the family any way that I could. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for sympathy. I just wanted to explain why the post was late this month. Barring any family emergencies or life changing events, I should be on time in April.**

I make no money off of this work of fiction. One Piece and it's characters are the work of Oda Eiichiro.

 **Harbinger**

Chapter Four: On the Ship

It didn't take long for Rachel to navigate the lifeboat to the side of The Harbinger. The crane and cables were already in position. Rachel swung the boat around and eased up on the throttle, slowing down she guided it into position. Letting the boat coax into the crane cables, Rachel turned off and raised the engine. The front cables were almost next to her while the back ones were closing in on the engine. Rachel grabbed the line closest to her in an effort to stop their forward inertia. Zoro followed her lead and grabbed the line on his side of boat. "We're ready!" Rachel called out. She looked to the two men that were still on the floor, holding onto each other for dear life. "Don't mess yourselves," she warned.

"Crane lift in 3..2..1..." A voice came from above, which Zoro noted was the same one he had been hearing all day, warned. The cables started going up. In a few seconds the boat gave a lurch and started raising with the cables.

"What's going on?" Zoro asked.

"Nothing much," Rachel shrugged. She let go of her hold on the cable. "It's just a retrieval system for when this little boat gets sent out. The cables are lowered into the water and wait for the boat to move in between them. On board the main ship someone operates the crane that will lift it up to the dock area of the ship." The boat stopped being lifted half way up the ship. Zoro's eyes widened at the sight. There was a hole in the side of the ship. The 'crane' that Rachel had described started to move again. This time it started retracting into the ship instead of lifting the boat out of the water.

Once the boat was fully inside the ship Rachel jumped over the side. Her bare feet landed on the metal surface with a dull slap. "So what's your plan?" Zoro looked to the voice, hoping now to associate a face with it. The woman he saw bore a stricking resemblance to Rachel. Her hair color and skin tone were slightly darker. Her face was more narrow than Rachel's as well. Although, Zoro kind of liked Rachel's strong cheek bones. He blinked at his own thoughts then shook his head to clear them.

"I thought you wanted to catch a nap?" Rachel teased. She took over the operation of the crane and moved the boat once again. The three men hadn't had a chance to get out yet. The crane swung the boat around, stopped and then lowered it. Zoro, Johnny and Yosaku felt the boat settle and then stop. Rachel shut down the crane and jumped back into the boat. She then started to climb the crane cable. She stopped two feet above Zoro's head and started to work on a spot where they all connected. A metallic click and Rachel tossed two ends of the cable over their heads to land on the floor on the other side.

Missy operated the dock hatch closed. She rolled her eyes behind Rachel's back. "What can I say? You've sparked my curiosity."

"You know that killed the cat," Rachel's voice took on a teasing tone.

"Yet satisfaction brought it back," Missy responded automatically. "So, how do you plan to bring sucken treasure back from the depths?" Rachel grabbed her boots, tent and pack. She once again jumped out of the boat. This time Zoro followed. Seeing that they were being left behind Johnny and Yosaku rushed to get out as well. Missy eyed the three men that were following Rachel. "You know you shouldn't bring strays home."

Rachel sputtered as she tried to stop the laugh. She was mostly successful, but Missy noticed she got a reaction. Johnny and Yosaku let out cries of protest towards the reference. Zoro ignored the comment as he looked around the room they were in. There were a lot of things here he had never seen before. The two strange boats and ATV had only been the beginning. Along the wall were some type of cylinders he couldn't guess what their purpose was. A series of hoses and straps were attached to them. In the far corner was a larger, box-like object that stood on four wheels. It reminded Zoro of the ATV, only it was several times larger then the vehicle that could only carry two. There was another strange object. The rounded front reminded Zoro of a sting ray. It had two 'wings' coming out. Each wing had a set of blades that looked shaped for a specific purpose. Just after the rounded front it caved into a flat area. There were two handles that were hidden under the front portion.

"What are all of these things?" Zoro asked. His curiosity was getting the better of him. Most of the time he didn't care. However, everything here was strange and foreign to him to the point it was unnerving.

Rachel decided to take pity on the three guys. No doubt they were extremely confused. If her theory of being in a different world that lacked modern technology was accurate then everything here would seem other worldly to them. She snickered as she thought about it. Everything here was other wordly. Rachel pointed to the cylinders on the wall. "Those are oxygen tanks," she explained. "You wear them on your back as you place the mask over your mouth. It allows you to breathe underwater."

"That's not possible!" Johnny gasped out. "No one can capture air like that."

"Believe what you want to," Missy shrugged. "It's really no skin off of our back."

Rachel ignored the two and continued her explanation. "In the corner is a military service vehicle. It's modeled after the Gen One Hummers from nearly twenty years ago. Although it is considerably newer than that."

"It better be," Missy crossed her arms.

"Then lastly is the submersible," Rachel ignored her. She was pointing to the object Zoro had compared to a sting ray earlier. "It's used by divers to get to an under water location faster then by swimming alone. It's depth range isn't anywhere near as good as a mini-sub, but it wasn't meant for severe depths to begin with. Just under the surface far enough for the diver to get past enemy lines unnoticed."

"You keep talking about combat and enemies," Yosaku shuddered. "What is this thing, a war ship?"

"To put it bluntly," Rachel looked him straight in the eye.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" Johnny freaked out.

"A-a-are y-you pirates?" Yosaku started pulling out his sword.

"Oh please," Rachel rolled her eyes as Missy moved to stand behind her. "If I was a pirate do you honestly think I would have allowed you on board my ship? Besides, how can you jump from thinking me a under cover princess to being a pirate in less than an hour?"

"They've gotta be bipolar," Missy pointed out.

"That's not funny," Rachel glared over her shoulder.

"If you're not pirates," Zoro spoke calmly. "What is all this for then?"

"You three gentlemen..." Rachel jumped when Missy poked her ribs. "Okay, you two boys and one gentlemen..." Rachel waited for a response from Missy. When none came, she continued with her explanation. "Are on board the US naval vessel The Harbinger."

"What does all that mean?" Johnny asked.

"The US is the country that we come from," Missy explained. "The naval vessel should be pretty self explanatory."

"Though this is just one of three prototypes," Rachel continued. "Our mission was to test and collect scientific data on a specific area of the ocean."

"I've never heard of US," Johnny pointed out. "Is it in one of the other oceans?"

Rachel let out a long sigh through her nose. "It would be best if we showed you," she said after a long minute. She grabbed the map she had just purchased and walked out of the room. The others, including Missy, followed after.

"You still haven't said what the specifics are to this plan of yours is," Missy reminded.

"It's really simple," Rachel talked as she walked. "Basically I'm going to dive, use the submursible and tag the gold. You'll lower the crane where the tags indicate and I'll attach the cables. Once I give the signal you'll raise the crane and the treasure is ours."

"Holy shit," Missy blinked. "That really is super simple. But, what do you mean by tags?"

"Emergency inflation markers," Rachel announced. "I'll set one off at my location. When it floats to the top it'll tell you where to drop the crane. I expect there would be a little bit of a drift, depending on the current. But you and I can go over the math on that later."

"Math?" Missy squeaked. "You know I suck at math, right?"

"Can you judge the distance of a foot measurement, give or take a few inches?"

"Sort of," Missy shrugged. "It all just depends on how much. Three or four feet, I'm a fair judge. Anything more than that and we get a little sketchy."

"That's most people," Rachel smiled. "You're not alone in that issue." They made it to a set of stairs that Rachel started climbing.

Missy stopped at the foot of the stairs. "If you're going to show them our maps and explain things I'm going to go crash."

Without stopping or looking back, Rachel tossed a wave over her shoulder. Johnny and Yosaku watched Missy continue walking down the hallway they were just in. She disappeared into one of the side doors. They looked back in time to see Zoro's back disappear into the sunlight. "WAIT FOR US BRO!" The two rushed to catch up to Zoro and Rachel.

On the deck the four were climbing another set of stairs. Rachel was moving so fast that the two couldn't really take in their surroundings that well. Rachel stopped once they reached their destination. Johnny and Yosaku tried to come in at the same time and ended up being stuck in the doorway. Zoro looked back at them, giving the two a strange look. It seemed to be asking them what they thought they were doing.

The two finally managed to get into the new room by turning to their sides and squeezing in. Although they did end up on the floor for their efforts. They jumped to their feet and pretended that nothing had gone wrong. Zoro shook his head at them and then turned back to face Rachel.

"Welcome to the Bridge," Rachel gestured.

"Bridge?" Yosaku asked confused. "How can we be on a bridge while we're on a ship?"

"I can see I have a lot of explaining to do," Rachel sighed. "The bridge of the ship is the control center. If you were to compare it to the human body you could say that it's the brain. In that regards I'll say this only once. DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING! Now then, I brought the three of you here to tell you our story." She laid the map she had on the table just behind her. It effectively covered the world map that was already laid out. "I'm sure you'll all recognize this."

"Sure," Johnny nodded. "It's the East Blue."

Rachel took the map off the table and rolled it back up. The map under it was revealed to the three men. "What is that?" Zoro asked.

"This is the map of our world," Rachel stated. The three men snapped their heads in her direction, looking at her like she'd gone mad. "Let me explain a few things to you." She pointed to an area was that a short distance away from the Florida coastline. "In our world there's an area of ocean that we call the Bermuda Triangle. For many years this area has been a constant subject of conspiracy theories, alien concern and other supernatural superstitions. Many ships of various mobility have been lost in this area. Some disappeared without a trace, only to reappear many years later with no crew. Other vessels just plain disappeared. More still sink. Communication becomes lost and other strange occurances."

"Sounds like a scary place," Yosaku shuddered. Johnny nodded his head in agreement. Zoro watched and listened to the story with an unreadable expression.

"You don't know the half of it," Rachel smiled. "Which is why I had chosen those waters for the maiden voyage of this ship."

"Why would you do something like that?" Johnny asked in shock.

"This ship, or rather type of ships, were designed for three purposes. The first is for a more reliable and cleaner source of energy. They run on solar power." She stopped when she saw the confused looks on the faces of the two. "They have panels that absorb heat from the sun, basically, and turn it into energy to be used in getting from point A to point B. Anyway, the second reason they were built was for stealth and intel. As technology grows so do the threats of other countries to our own. Especially since the last several presidents can't seem to get it out of their heads we don't need to participate in every single war. Intel is often the difference between a war won and a war lost. The last reason was for research and study. Three ships, three missions. The other two were testing the stealth and power output. Ours was to test the research capabilities. I chose to go to the Bermuda to see if there was a commonality between the missing vessels and the conditions of the ocean."

"What did you find out?" Yosaku asked shakily.

"I found out what happens to the ships when they disappear," Rachel stared them all in the eye.

"I don't get it," Johnny announced.

"I don't buy it," Zoro ignored him. "Do you honestly expect us to believe that you and this ship come from a different world?"

Johnny and Yosaku looked at him in surprise. "ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"

Rachel wore a smile, as if she was expecting doubt. She turned and pulled on a lever by what was obviously the helm. A loud noise drew their attention to the front of the ship. A large chain was reeling in. The men looked out the door to the side of the ship. At the end of the chain was what appeared to be an anchor, but it wasn't shaped like any anchor they had seen. Their surprise continued when a loud noise started somewhere below them. "That's just the engine," Rachel explained.

Rachel looked towards the three with a smirk. "If you want to see something cool, go look towards the back. Just don't fall in the water. You'll be chopped to bits." Yosaku and Johnny shuddered as Zoro was curious enough to go look. The water behind the ship started churning, as if it was boiling. To heighten their surprise further, the ship lurched forward. The men looked for sails, but none were found.

Rachel quit paying attention to their 'guests' once Harbinger was on the move. She had to keep one eye on the radar and another in front of her. Every now and then she checked the map and their position. It wasn't long before the ship reached the position she had marked on the map earlier that day. Rachel slowed the ship to a stop and cut the engine. She waited for a few minutes to let the ship slow it's forward motion enough for her to drop anchor. Once that was done she turned back to the men.

"A ship with no sails," Yosaku said in awe.

"It's a miracle," Johnny added.

"How did you do it?" Zoro asked. He didn't believe in miracles so he continued his trend of ignoring the two.

"I hardly did anything," Rachel announced. "I'm not an engineer. I'm a mechanic, which means I can keep things running after they're built. Actually building them, not really my area. But this all comes back to what I was saying earlier. This ship utilizes heat absorbed by the sun. It converts it into power. That power is what propels the ship forward. Then the engine, ran by that same power, turns the propellers at the back of the ship."

"What are you talking about?" Zoro asked. "All that was back there was churning water."

"What do you think was making the water churn?" Rachel raised an eyebrow. "The propellers are located under the water. Take a dive under and look at them some time. Just not when they're rotating. It's kind of dangerous at that point."

"I'm still not convinced this ship isn't some marine stunt," Zoro deadpanned.

"Please don't call them that," Rachel narrowed her eyes. "It just feels wrong to call sailors marines."

"Why would you say that?" Yosaku asked.

"In the US the Marine Corp is an elite military force," Rachel explained. "Not sailors, but well trained soldiers. Each experts in their fields. From snipers, to mechanics and intel. The level of training they have to go through is mind boggling. I took a week boot camp once. It's beyond difficult both physically and mentally."

"You have a lot of respect for them," Zoro noticed.

"It's hard not to," Rachel smiled fondly. "I've admired the Marine Corp since I was old enough to understand the different factions of our military. I would have joind them, but I found my passion at sea. Being a naval officer was more appealing to me."

"So you're in the military of this US?" Zoro asked. Rachel nodded, confirming his question. "And the other woman?"

"That would be Melissa," Rachel announced. "Or Missy for short. She is a member of one of the military factions. More specifically, the army. So she really wouldn't have been assigned to this ship since we're not in the same faction. She only came with me on this mission because I recommended her to my superiors. Her skills with computers is practically unparalleled. There's no one else I would trust with the equipment."

"I'm still not sure if you're telling the truth or not," Zoro crossed his arms.

Instead of rising to his challenge, Rachel decided to ask a question. "You mentioned something about a snail earlier. When you heard Missy talking over the comm system. What exactly did you mean?"

"A transponder snail?" Yosaku asked.

Rachel only nodded her head. "It's the only way to communicate if you can't see another person," Johnny explained.

"But what is it?"

"It's a snail that you talk into," Yosaku answered hesitantly.

"Oh gross," Rachel gagged at the thought. "Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll stick with the radio on the ship." Rachel grabbed a black box, turned a dial and tossed it to Zoro. "Do me a favor and all three of you go stand at the front of the ship."

"And do what?" Zoro looked confused.

"You'll see." Rachel practically pushed them out of the bridge. The three looked back her only for the door to slam in their faces. With a shrug Zoro started walking across the deck. Johnny and Yosaku followed him like puppies. It didn't take long for them to reach the other side of the deck. Of course, they skirted around a strange and large object that was sitting almost directly in the middle of the deck.

"I wonder what that is," Johnny said to no one in particular.

Zoro looked back to give his thoughts on it when the black box spoke. "Can you hear me now?" Zoro nearly dropped it in his shock while the other two backed away. "Quit acting like a bunch of babies. It's just a radio. This ship is capable of communication within a certain range. If you look at the roof of the bridge." The men turned their attention to what Rachel was referring to. "You'll see several strange tower like structures. Those are called antennas. Their purpose is to maintain communication waves with various devices. However, only one of them works at the moment. If you press the button on the side of the box you can talk back to me. Just let go of it when you're done talking."

Yosaku snatched the device from Zoro and pushed the button. He pushed the button on the side like Rachel said. "How come?" He then let the button go.

"How come what?" Rachel asked. "Why you need to push the button or why we can't communicate with home?"

"The home one," Yosaku pressed and released the button.

"The other antenna connect to radio frequency produced by different devices located all across my world," Rachel explained. "Or in some cases, above the world. Either way, this world doesn't have what it takes to communicate with my superiors. As far as they know, we're another missing and unsolved case of the Bermuda Triangle. Unless Missy and I can find a way to return, that is."

"Then why are you after the pirate treasure?" Johnny asked. There was silence after he asked that question. "Oi!"

Yosaku had a smug look on his face as he pushed the button. "How come you're after the treasure then?" He let go of the button, face still smug.

"There's no telling how long we're going to be here for," Rachel explained. "So we need to be able to have a decent cash flow until we can figure out what to do next."

Johnny and Yosaku nodded their heads and looked thoughtful. It made sense to them now. They didn't notice that Zoro had left them and headed back to the bridge. "I still don't get how you can be from a different world," he said once he was through the door.

"Think about everything you've seen Melissa and myself use," Rachel put a hand on her hip. "Between the drone, ATV, life boat and radio I would think that you would be questioning if these items were made in this world or not. Let's not forget the map I showed you. It's accurate right down to latitude and longitude. It even maps out under water mountains and volcanos for ships like this to avoid. Heck, it even shows the deepest under sea gorge."

"So what's that thing?" Zoro pointed to the object he had walked past twice while going onto the deck and back.

"It's called a helicopter," Rachel answered.

"What's it do?"

"You know that drone Missy was operating? The thing that you saw flying around? That thing flies too. Just higher and faster."

"You're kidding."

"Last night, did you hear a strange noise resound across the island? Since you were wandering around in the woods I would also assume you saw strange lights." Zoro only nodded his head in answer. Rachel nudged her head in the direction of the helicopter, indicating that it was the thing he heard and saw. "I flew it to get an accurate map of the island. It's also how I found the pirate so quickly this morning. I had seen where his camp was and where he was setting up traps for bounty hunters. Well, between that and the drone it wasn't hard to figure out."

Zoro remained silent as he thought. He gave a grunt and nodded at Rachel. It was his way of saying he finally acknowledged what she was telling him. "Now that I've gained your approval," Rachel teased. "I'll show you boys where you can stay. This ship was built to maintain a crew of twenty at it's most. Melissa and I are the only crew left after our other worldly trip. Which means I have plenty of bunks for you guys to sleep in."

"Bunks?" Zoro looked confused.

"One room, two beds," Rachel announced. "One bed on top of the other."

"I'll take one room," Zoro decided. "Those two can bunk with one another."

Rachel let out a laugh. "Somehow I thought you might go with that sleeping arrangement." The two left the bridge and waited for Johnny and Yosaku to join them. She showed them to where the crew bunks were located. "I plan on going on that dive tomorrow. Zoro, you're welcome to help me out and earn your travel expenses."

"What about us?" Yosaku asked hopefully.

"I'm sure Missy can find something for you two to occupy yourselves with." The two slumped at being denied a chance to look for treasure. Rachel turned and walked away. "See you in the morning guys."

"One last question," Zoro called out. Rachel looked over her shoulder to show she was listening. "You said that you two were the only ones left after the 'trip'. What happened to the other crew?"

"We don't know," Rachel admitted sadly. "We were a crew of five. The absolute minimum that was required for the test run. We all experienced the storm together. The lights went out, everything was pitch black. When Missy and I could see again the others were gone. The only evidence they had been on the ship are the belongings they had left in their assigned rooms. We used those to have a memorial service for them. Obviously we'll keep an eye out for them while we're travelling, but we're not expecting positive results." Rachel started walking away after giving the answer. Her mood had turned so melancholy that none of the men stopped her. Zoro walked into a room and shut the door. Johnny and Yosaku immediately went into the room next to his.


	6. The Dive

I make no money off of this work of fiction. One Piece and it's characters are the work of Oda Eiichiro.

 **Harbinger**

Chapter Five: The Dive

Zoro could say that was one of the most comfortable beds he had ever slept in. He was normally used to a futon on the floor, a bed of hay for crashing in someone's barn or just plain out on the forest floor. Being a traveling swordsman didn't offer a lot in the way of comfortable accommodations. Used to a hard surface for sleep made it more difficult for Zoro to find sleep in the soft mattress. Halfway through the night he had given up, spread the blanket on the floor and slept there.

After being able to catch some rest, Zoro was now wandering the halls of the ship. He, Johnny and Yosaku weren't told they couldn't explore, just not to touch anything. So Zoro took advantage of waking early and headed out of his room. He was hoping to find a way back to the deck so he could do some training. However, he was frustrated to have a room that was so far away from the stairs. It came to the point where he just started to randomly open doors, hoping to find a way out.

After a few minutes Zoro found himself in a large room. There was some form of sitting area and a kitchen area. Further into the room was an area with strange devices stragically placed apart from each other. The sound of something being hit drew his attention to the far corner of the room.

Rachel stood in front a some type of bag hanging from the ceiling. On her hands were thick and puffy gloves. The noise that drew Zoro's attention was her hitting the bag in front of her in a series of punches and kicks. She was wearing tight shorts and a tight shirt that barely covered the shoulders. A small portion of her flat stomach could be seen. Her feet had thick shoes with ties. Zoro approached her out of curiosity. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"It's called exercise," Rachel said between breaths. Her left leg then swung forward with the top of her foot hitting the bag squarely. As the bag swung from the abuse she turned to look at him. "It's just one of the things I do to keep in shape without a good sparring partner."

A dangerous smirk flitted across Zoro's features. He fingered the swords on his right hip. "Sparring huh?"

"Hand-to-hand combat," Rachel clarified. She eyed the motion Zoro had made. "I'm not trained to use a sword. They're kind of an outdated weapon in our world."

Zoro's eyes widened in disbelief. "What?"

"People don't use swords to fight in our world," Rachel answered more clearly. "In fact, they're more like collectibles and heirlooms now than anything else."

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Swords are not allowed beyond acting as decorations," Rachel continued. "In fact, I know that they're outlawed to carry openly in some countries. While swordsmanship is still taught to an extent, they mostly use bokken and not actual swords. The only time swords are used are for demonstrations without the chance of someone getting hurt."

"That doesn't make sense," Zoro argued. "How can people be expected to defend themselves?"

"With hand-to-hand combat of course," Rachel answered like it was the most obvious answer. "That or they have a CCW."

"What's that?" Zoro asked.

"CCW stands for Conceal and Carry Weapon," Rachel answered. "But it's not referring to swords or even knives. It's referring to guns, or handguns to be more specific."

"Those things are so unreliable," Zoro scoffed.

Rachel released a small laugh. "Maybe the ones in this world are," she agreed. "But in our world guns have been around for a few hundred years. You have the smaller ones which can be carried by hand all the way to the size of a house or larger."

"Those are cannons," Zoro pointed out.

"Maybe here," Rachel amended. "We used to have cannons in our world as well. They're nothing more than historical relics these days that are just fun to shoot once in a while to appease the curiosity of tourists."

Zoro stood and looked at Rachel with a dumbfounded expression. Cannons were the main defensive weapon used by the Marines against the pirates. Yet, here this woman was, calling them outdated relics. "What would you use to fight against pirates then?" he challenged.

"Turret Guns," Rachel answered without hesitation. "Even this ship is equipped with one. Though our ammo is extremely limited. Due to our mission it wasn't expected that we would go up against any type of resistance. Not like the other two ships would. So, while we do have the means to protect ourselves, until we can find a supplier of sorts for more ammo we have to use it sparingly. If there's a situation we simply can't run from then we'll have to use it." Zoro shook his head, in wonder or disbelief Rachel couldn't tell.

"Let's get back to swords," Zoro brought the subject back to the original topic. He then drew Wado from his side. He held it at the ready towards Rachel. "Now what will you do?"

In a move that surprised Zoro, instead of moving away, Rachel stepped into his range. He started to swing the sword to increase the danger towards her. Rachel bent at the waist, increasing the distance Zoro would need to swing to actually hit her. But instead of letting him follow through Rachel brought one of her arms up, fist closed with the glove still on and hit on the inside of his forearm precisely in the middle. Somehow Zoro lost his grip on the sword and it clattered to the floor behind Rachel who was now smirking up at Zoro. "I said that I don't use swords," she clarified. "I didn't say I wasn't taught how to disarm others."

Rachel stood up straight and backed up a step. She then started taking off her boxing gloves and tossed them against the wall where a towel and bottle of water were. Zoro continued to blink at her in wonder. With a roll of her eyes Rachel grabbed Zoro's arm. "Oi," he protested.

"Relax, I don't bite." Rachel then used her index finger to trace lightly at a spot on the inside of his forearm. Zoro noticed it was the exact spot where she had hit him to get the sword to drop. "It's a hit pressure point," she explained. "A really small point in the body if you think about it. But all that's needed to disarm someone that has a grip on a weapon using only one hand. It also works in breaking free of someone's hold on you."

"They teach this in the military?" Zoro asked.

"To some degree," Rachel walked to her water bottle. "They concentrate more on incapacitating your opponent then getting away. Before I joined the navy I had been taking martial arts. All of my pressure points training and knowledge comes from that."

Zoro nodded in understanding, not really feeling the need to dig deeper. Not to mention that the tone in Rachel's voice spoke she wouldn't be giving out too much information on the subject. "So what made you decide to come to the Rec Room?" Rachel asked as a change of topic.

"You put me in a room too far away from the stairs," Zoro accused. "I was on my way to the deck for training and got curious."

Rachel's face scrunched up in confusion. "I put you in the room three doors away from the stairs, you should have been able to see them. Plus, this room is in the opposite direction. Don't tell me you got lost."

"I did not!" Zoro snapped.

"Down boy," Rachel teased. "You can use this room for your training though. Unless you'd rather do it outside. There is some equipment here that can help." Rachel then gestured towards the bag she had been hitting earlier. "Like this, it's called a sand bag. It's not quite the same as hitting a body, but it gives some resistence."

"I don't think that will work for me," Zoro admitted.

"Why don't you try? A little stress relief never hurt anyone." Rachel watched as Zoro walked up and stood in front of the sand bag. He pulled back an arm and punched the sand bag half-heartedly. Not only did his fist rip a hole in the bag, but the bag was sent flying into the wall behind it with sand flying everywhere. Rachel could have sworn she felt the ship rock a little from the force.

Rachel's mouth opened slightly in surprise. The action drew Zoro's attention to her lips, he caught himself and looked away as Rachel turned in his direction. "I hope you realize that you're cleaning this up," she said. Her face morphed into a deceivingly sweet smile, almost challenging Zoro to fight against it.

"How?" Zoro looked around at all the sand spilled across the area. Rachel moved to a door close to the kitchen area. She opened it and pulled out a shop vac. She plugged the cord into an outlit and brought it over to Zoro. After turning it on and showing him how it works she started walking out of the room. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to shower," Rachel stopped to look back at him. "Not only am I sweaty and sticky, but now I don't have a sand bag to finish beating. Might as well get ready to start the rest of the day." She walked out, ignoring Zoro and his perplexed expression.

A half hour later Johnny and Yosaku timidly entered the room. They were looking for the loud noise that had woke them. It turned out to be the shop vac Zoro was using to try and pick up the sand with. "What are you doing Big Bro?" Johnny asked.

"I'm fixing a broken training device," Zoro announced. He was in complete denial that he was just cleaning. A few minutes later he was finished. Turning off the shop vac, he thought about what he should do. He didn't know exactly how to put it away. He was vaguely aware of how Rachel needed to unwrap the cord for him to use, but he didn't get a chance to see how it was done.

Before he could ponder on it further, Missy ambled into the room. She didn't acknowledge the presence of the men. She swayed lazily back and forth as she walked to the kitchen area. Yosaku walked up to her. "Do you know how to put away that thing Big Bro is using?" he asked. He received no answer as Missy continued to putter around in the kitchen gathering different items. Yosaku got a little closer to get her attention. "Hey Missy!" he called out.

Missy's head whipped in his direction, eyes flaring in anger. "WHAT!?" she snapped. Fangs were seen, looking like they were ready to rip Yosaku in half.

Yosaku jumped away from her and landed on his rear. Johnny and Zoro looked surprised at how hostile she turned all of a sudden. Yosaku backed away, still on the floor. One hand in front to try and protect himself while the other was pulling him, hopefully, out of the danger zone. "N-n-nothing," he stuttered.

"THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU BOTHERING ME!?"

Yosaku let out a small shout of surprise. He bolted to his feet and was instantly next to Johnny. The two of them cowered away from Missy in fear. Zoro continued to look on in confusion. He couldn't place what was wrong with the woman.

Rachel chose that moment to walk back into the rec room. She was dressed in a wet suit, but the top sleeves were wrapped and tied around her waist. On her upper half she sport a two piece top that could pass as a sports bra if it wasn't for the blue passion flowers printed on it. She paused at the sight of the two men cowering like helpless children and Zoro looking confused. She looked around for what could have been the cause. That's when she noticed Missy standing hunched over slightly. Her hands were curled, almost like she had claws that were ready to strike at the next person that came close. Ignoring the warnings of Johnny and Yosaku, Rachel walked towards Missy. To their complete disbelief Rachel walked right past her. Even though she was well within striking distance, Missy did nothing except continue her glare towards Yosaku.

Rachel went to the counter and seemingly continued what Missy had started, except she was a bit more focused and sure of her actions. Once she finished she turned towards the two men and smirked at them. "You tried to talk to her, didn't you?" She shook her head at them. "Missy isn't a morning person by any stretch of the imagination," Rachel explained. "When she wakes up she's barely coherent or focused on anything else except for this." Rachel's thumb pointed over her shoulder to the device both women had been working with.

"What is that?" Zoro asked.

"It's a coffee maker," Rachel answered.

"That's not how you make coffee," Johnny pointed out. "You need a fire and a metal canteen and..." He stopped short when Missy started growling at him.

"Is she part demon?" Yosaku asked in fear.

"Only in the mornings before her coffee," Rachel tried to contain her laughter. The machine on the counter finished with what it was doing and beeped. Rachel grabbed a mug from the cupboard and prepared a cup for herself. As she walked past Missy a teasing smirk was on her face. "And the first cup goes to me this morning."

That seemed to snap Missy out of her hostile intentions. She whipped around and started making her own cup of coffee. She sat at a table and took a sip of her coffee. Her eyes closed and she sighed in pure bliss. Johnny and Yosaku made a move to get up. Her eyes snapped to them with a glare. They froze in place, wondering what they did now. "Wait until she's done with her coffee." Rachel was giving them advice as she set her cup down. She took the shop vac from Zoro. She unplugged the power cord from the wall and began the process of putting it away. Once that was taken care of Rachel took up her mug of coffee once again and walked towards the door. She paid no attention to the still cowering men at this point or to Missy as she continued to drink her coffee with her eyes closed.

Zoro followed after Rachel. He didn't care much for the drama that was playing out in the room. Since he hadn't been the one to raise Missy's wrath she didn't pay him any attention as he walked past.

In the hall, Zoro saw Rachel about ready to turn a corner down the other end. "Oi!" he called out to her.

Rachel stopped and looked back at Zoro. "Did you need something else?" Rachel asked. "If you're hungry I'm sure Missy will make something once she finishes her first cup of coffee."

"I thought you said you were going diving today," Zoro pointed out.

"I still plan to," Rachel agreed. "That's why I changed into this."

"It doesn't look like much," Zoro scowled.

"Sure it's not very fashionable," Rachel admitted. "But it gets the job done."

"What is it's job?"

"Mostly it's to keep me warm under water," Rachel explained. "It keeps a layer of water between me and the suit. My own body heat is warming the water inside the suit and acting as a barrier against the cooler water outside of the suit. It also offers a small measure of protection against getting scratched accidentally by coral or any sea life that I might brush up against it."

"It's plenty warm outside," Zoro pointed out. "I don't see the need."

"I'm willing to bet you don't deep sea dive either," Rachel began walking again. Zoro kept pace with her as they talked. "The deeper you go in the water the less the sun is able to penetrate and warm the water. Not to mention that water conducts heat away from the body faster then air. The air might be warm to us, but get in the water at the same temperature as the air and it will seem cool. Stay in that same water long enough and it'll become chilly to the point where it's dangerous. Like I said, water pulls heat out of your body faster than you expect."

Rachel walked through a door and Zoro followed. He noticed that they were in the large room where they stored the small boat. Rachel set her coffee down and began to gather a few things. Among them were two cylinders along the wall. She placed them next to the life boat. She also grabbed a strange looking belt. It seemed like it was stuffed full of cotton to Zoro.

Using the same ramps from the island, Rachel drove the ATV off the life boat and parked it in an area she could strap it down. Once that was finished she started loading it with the diving gear she had been collecting. "If you want to dive with me I strongly suggest wearing a wetsuit as well." Rachel went to a closet and started sifting around. She turned to eye Zoro up and down. "I could see if the one put in here for Steve would fit."

"I'm not wearing one of those things," Zoro crossed his arms.

Rachel closed the wetsuit locker with a shrug, "Suit yourself." As she began to walk to the controls of the crane system Missy walked in. Johnny and Yosaku were following warily behind her. "It's about time you showed up."

"It took longer for the caffeine to hit," Missy said off handedly. "So what do you need me to do?"

"Nothing much really," Rachel admitted. "Working the crane as I launch and dock will the the extent of your manual labor. Monitoring the comm system while I'm down there in case of an emergency will also be helpful."

Johnny and Yosaku stood next to Zoro. They had absolutely no idea what was going on. Zoro had a vague idea, but he wasn't sure how the two were going to pull off bringing sunken treasure to the surface. They watched as Rachel got the lifeboat locked into the cables of the crane to be lowered.

Once the life boat was secure Rachel turned to the men. "Anyone wanting to go diving is welcome to join me," she offered. Zoro stepped forward while Johnny and Yosaku shook their heads negatively. Rachel and Missy briefly wondered how they didn't have whiplash from it. Zoro jumped into the boat with Rachel as the dock hatch opened. Missy worked the crane to move them into the open. After a few minutes they were in the water.

Instead of turning the engine on like he expected, Rachel told Zoro to take one side and help her pull the boat out of the crane rigging. A minute or two later they were free. Rachel then pushed against The Harbinger to move the life boat away from it. Once they were a few feet out Rachel finally lowered the engine and started forward. She didn't go as fast as yesterday. They didn't go very far from the ship either.

"Why use this at all if we're not that far from the ship?" Zoro asked.

Rachel was pulling the top half of her wetsuit over herself. "Having a short jump into the water is safer than a long one," she answered as she zipped closed. "Not to mention the life boat offers a quicker means of getting out of the water then trying to climb up The Harbinger." Rachel tossed the anchor over the side. She kept feeding the line until it grew some slack. "It's not really deep right here," she noted. "I wonder if the pirates hit a sand bar which helped the Marines sink them."

"Sand bar?"

"It's a build up of sand brought about by the currents and tides," Rachel said. "Most of the time they're exposed at low tide. But this one seems to be just low enough not to be seen, which can be dangerous under the right conditions."

"Would it hurt your ship?" Zoro asked.

"Not likely," Rachel said. "Worst case scenerio, we'll be stuck until high tide. Like I said, it will sink ships in the right conditions. Say a sea battle, if a ship's hull is already weakened and compromised from cannon damage or fire it won't last long with extra stress."

Rachel pulled a type of hood to match her wetsuit over her head so only her face, hands and feet were seen. Shortly after she put on what Zoro could only say were fins on her feet. She then pulled one of the tanks onto her back and started securing it. "If you're not going to wear any gear will you at least wear the oxygen tank?" Rachel asked. She looked at him for his answer. Zoro shook his head, not believing it would allow him to breathe under the water. Rachel let out a sigh and began pulling on webbed gloves. "Then don't feel the need to keep up," she announced. "Nor should you try to stay under the water for as long, or as deep as me." Rachel pulled the oxygen mask and goggles over her face. She leaned backwards and fell into the sea. Zoro took off his boots and placed his swords next to them. He dove in after Rachel.

Zoro looked around but didn't see Rachel. He looked down and finally found her using the anchor line as a guide to reach the bottom. He followed after her, hoping to find this pirate ship soon.

Missy was in the bridge with Johnny and Yosaku. She was confused as to why they were so jumpy. Every time she moved, sighed or pretty much blinked they jumped as if they were startled. A whistling sound came over the speaker. "Is the mic working?" Rachel's voice came across. Though it sounded slightly distorted and muffled.

"We can hear you," Missy announced after pushing a button. She released it once she was done talking.

"There's a sand bar here," Rachel announced. "I'm going to follow along it and see if I can find the ship."

"Got it," Missy pushed the button again.

"The current is coming up from below the sand bar and then moving towards the island," Rachel explained.

Missy pushed the button to talk. "Are you sure that the current didn't push the ship onto the sand bar?"

"The Navy would have seen it," Rachel reasoned. "I'm also assuming that the pirate ship was trying to get further out to sea. Even if the current did push it back to the island it's unlikely that it would push it up onto the sand bar. Although, Gravity is a fickle bitch." Missy couldn't help laughing at that one.

Zoro followed Rachel until she reached the sand bar. That's when he had to return for some much needed air. He surfaced, took in a lungful and dove back under. By the time he was back to the sand bar Rachel had already moved away from the anchor and was following the edge. If he wasn't worried about losing air he would have cursed. Realizing she can take care of herself, Zoro swam back up to the surface. Once on the boat he looked at the water. "Damn woman," he muttered.

"I think Zoro gave up following you," Missy laughed.

"I was expecting it," Rachel answered. "I was hoping he would realize he can't keep up with a person that doesn't need to surface every few minutes."

"You should have brought the submersible for him to use."

"And ruin my fun?"

"You're right," Missy laughed harder. "I don't know what I was thinking."

Zoro eyed the spare tank Rachel had brought with them. Cursing under his breath he began to put it on like he saw Rachel. It was really tight around the chest, but he could live with that, it would be good lung exercise. Putting on the mask and goggles like she did, he jumped into the water. The tank made moving difficult. It took a few moments to angle in the direction that he wanted to go. Begrudgingly he admitted, if only to himself, that falling in backwards like Rachel had probably would have been better. He continued to hold his breath, still not quite believing that the oxygen tank would work.

Zoro eventually found himself back to where the anchor rested. At this point Rachel was no where in sight. He started swimming in the direction he had last seen her going. He didn't get far before his lungs started burning. He debated on going back to the surface for air. Closing his eyes and expecting the worse he let out the air he was holding and inhaled. Nothing filled his lungs. Now desperate for air he began to swim to the surface.

Rachel, slightly concerned for Zoro, back tracked. While she knew he wouldn't do anything that would put his own life in danger needlessly she felt kind of bad leaving him behind without trying to get him to see things her way. She was getting close to the anchor when she blinked in surprise. Zoro had been coming back, but now he wore the oxygen tank. But something didn't seem right. A few bubbles escaped the mask and Zoro flinched in the water. He then started to make a dash for the surface.

Rachel caught his hand and pulled herself up to him. Zoro looked back, his eyes slightly wild in his need for air. Rachel reached up to the oxygen tank and turned the valve into the on position. She gestured for him to try again. With narrowed eyes, Zoro hesitantly took in another breath. This time, however, his burning lungs were relieved. Oxygen flowed in and out as easily as if he were on land.

Giving a satisfied nod, Rachel then began working on the straps that held the tank to Zoro's back. After a few tugs and snaps the straps were sung, but no longer constraining Zoro's chest or restricting movement. Rachel made a beckoning motion and then continued to swim along the sand bar. Now more confident in the strange equipment Zoro easily caught up and matched pace.

"What's going on down there?" Missy asked.

"Nothing much," Rachel answered.

"Don't give me that," Missy snapped. "I saw Zoro get in the life boat, put on the oxygen tank and dive back in. These two nutbars tell me he's an excellent swimmer and are pretty sure he should have made it to you by now."

"When were you planning on telling me all of this?" Rachel asked.

"Ummm," Missy struggled for an answer.

"I was already back tracking wanting to know how Zoro was when I found him. He's with me now, but his comm isn't turned on. I don't want him to freak out even more. He's a little confused about being able to breathe under water."

"So you haven't found the pirate boat yet?"

"Ship, Missy," Rachel corrected. "It's a pirate ship. The life boat is a boat."

"What's the difference?" Missy rolled her eyes.

"One you live in the other is just for getting from point A to point B. Or for pulling a water tube behind, whichever." There was a few minutes of silence. "Now here's something."

"What did you find?" Missy asked.

"There's a break in the sand bar," Rachel announced. "It looks like something scraped across the bottom before heading out to deeper water. I'm setting up a location marker to come back to. Now that I know it's not going to be easy to find this thing, we're coming back to the ship. We won't use the crane though. Zoro and I will climb on deck if we need to. We'll take a small break, let Zoro warm up and have lunch."

"See you when you get here."

Rachel pulled a brightly colored object from her puffy belt. It had a long string attached to it. Taking a small weight out of the same pouch she tied the string to it. Then she pulled a small string that was located in the middle of the colored object. Instantly it started filling up with air. Rachel let it go and the object floated to the surface. The weight stayed on the sand bar. Rachel then got Zoro's attention and the two made their way back to the life boat.

Out of the water Rachel took off her mask and goggles. She let the oxygen tank clutter behind the seat she was on. She then helped Zoro get out of his gear. "So you decided to give it a try?" she teased. She pulled the mask off Zoro and giggled at his expression. He didn't want to believe, but at the same time the proof was right there. He had been able to breathe under water.

"What are we doing?" Zoro asked. "I thought that you wanted to find that treasure."

"We'll find it," Rachel assured. "It's just best to take breaks from diving every now and then. Especially for beginners that aren't quite used to the high pressure and depth." She smirked at the glare Zoro sent her way.

After a short break Rachel and Zoro were ready to head back out. This time they had the small submersible with them. Rachel guided the boat to pull up alongside the marker. Following the direction of the current flow, Rachel dropped anchor in the sand bar below. She helped Zoro put on the oxygen tank and gear. He still refused to wear a wet suit though. "You know," Rachel spoke conversationally. "Those rags you call clothes look like they're about to fall off of you."

"Doesn't really matter what my clothes look like," Zoro dismissed. "Better clothes won't make me a better swordsman."

"That can easily be debated," Rachel charged. "How do you expect your opponents to take you seriously if all you dress in are rags?" Zoro let out a grunt. He didn't really deny what she had to say. It was true that weak bandits and pirates underestimated him based on the condition of his clothes. "When we get to the next island we'll look into finding something more suitable for you," Rachel offered.

"You don't want to go back to that island?" Zoro motioned with his chin towards the island that wasn't too far away.

"I was in their one and only general store," Rachel said. "They didn't have much in the line of clothing that would really work for or stand up to fights. Not to mention they looked cumbersome and restrictive." She was about to say more when Zoro cut her off.

"Alright already," he sighed out. "If it will get you to leave me alone we'll get me some clothes at the next island." Rachel smiled up at him as she finished the last buckle of his equipment. Zoro gulped so hard that his Adam's Apple visibly moved. Not that Rachel noticed, she was already putting her own oxygen tank on. 'What the hell is wrong with me?' Zoro asked himself. 'Why did her smile effect me like that?' His face was hot and he wondered at it. No one had ever made him feel so uneasy, not even his childhood rival.

Rachel put on her mask and goggles. Once she was ready she got the submersible. She dropped it into the water and followed it with Zoro right behind her. The two were holding onto the submersible, shoulder to shoulder, as Rachel guided it to bring them down to the sand bar faster than earlier.

It wasn't long before the two of them reached the anchor. Not far from that was the anchor of the position marker Rachel had released. The line was now slightly slack. This was a sign that the marker was loosing it's air and bouyancey. Soon the marker would be useless to them. Thinking on possible solutions if they couldn't find what they were looking for, Rachel guided the submersible in the direction the disturbed sand indicated.

It was a steep drop from the sand bar. It made Rachel wonder about the effects of the currents and how they moved. It didn't seem like normal currents, at least not what she was used to. Then again, they were in another world, not everything could be exactly the same. At least that was her reasoning.

Zoro tapped Rachel's arm to gain her attention. When she looked at him he pointed off to the side. Rachel followed the direction of his arm and saw it. There was a ship laying on the sea bed. Sea weed, rocks and under water sediment had been disturbed indicating it was a recent event.

Missy was tapping her foot in impatience. She hadn't heard a single word from the diving party. Johnny and Yosaku were somewhere in the ship, trying not to cause trouble. After the events from this morning they didn't want to risk angering her again. Missy was startled from her thoughts when the comm gave that slight whistle before someone underwater spoke. "We found it," Rachel announced. "I'm going to set up the location markers. Can you steer the ship towards us?"

Missy pushed the button to talk. "I'm a little insulted," she scoffed. "I've been learning how to opperate these things."

"A video game doesn't count."

"DAMNIT!"

"Seriously though, can you?"

"I've got you covered girl," Missy announced. "You set those markers and I'll be there. Do you want me to wait for your signal before lowering the crane cables?"

"That's a good idea," Rachel agreed. In the midst of their conversation a marker was seen breaking the surface of the sea. "It will give us a chance to figure out exactly where the treasure is before we get too far in this expedition."

"Expedition, huh?"

"Just as long as you don't drop the anchor on us you can call it what you want then."

"Easy money."

"Don't think I didn't notice you not denying the anchor remark."


	7. Treasure Equals Money

I make no money off of this work of fiction. One Piece and it's characters are the work of Oda Eiichiro.

 **Harbinger**

Chapter Six: Treasure Equals Money

Once Rachel finished putting up the second position marker she turned to Zoro. She turned on the flashlight on his goggles then the one on her own. The two then made their way into the cargo hold of the ship. Once inside Rachel pointed Zoro to go one way while she went in the other direction. Rachel soon found herself in the crew barracks. Hammocks shifted in the movement of the water from where they were hung. This proved to Rachel even more that this was a recent sink. Bacteria and water life would have eaten the fibers of the ropes first before degrading the wood of the ship. Rachel pushed past the room, hoping to find the treasure room beyond. It was common sense that the crew's own barracks could act as a security measure. Unpaid guards were the best, they would protect their share in the treasure more than a locked safe would.

Zoro found the storage room full of barrels and floating vegetables. He startled a few fish trying to eat on the food with the light. He flinched at the image of fish scattering from a corpse that was slumped over a barrel. Zoro narrowed his eyes at the image. He wondered why a pirate would risk their own life instead of fleeing with the others. He looked around and found a fish hook hanging on the wall. He used that to move the corpse from the barrel then to open the barrel itself. All that was inside was soaked and useless gun powder. Zoro threw the fish hook into the barrel in frustration. The force caused the barrel to split and powder to spread. When the black mist finally cleared Zoro looked around. Not seeing anything different he began to move away.

Rachel looked over her shoulder at hearing a dull thud. The sound was obviously muffled by the walls of the ship, but carried further because of the water. She had been opening chests in the last room, looking for the treasure she hoped to find. All she found were ratty cloth that pirates seemed to claim were clothing. She swam over to the last chest to open it before going to investigate the noise. There was a lock on this one though. Rachel tied a bright cloth to it and swam back towards the exit.

At the stairs to the deck, Rachel couldn't see any sign of Zoro. She couldn't even see his light going back and forth further inside his half of the ship. Deciding that he had to have caused the noise in some way she started to panic. If he had an accident and his mask came off then it would mean a tragic end. She wouldn't be strong enough to help him. All she would be able to do would share her oxygen while she tried to get crane cables down to lift any heavy debris off of him.

Rachel quickly swam through the doorway. She was stopped short when she ran into something hard. She felt an arm go around her shoulders to hold her steady. Trying to not panic further, Rachel looked up. Zoro was looking down at her. His eyes being the only visible portion through his goggles they seemed confused. Rachel pulled away from Zoro and he let her. She took in his own appearance. His clothes had gotten darker, like he had swam through tar. He had one arm free, which she assumed was the arm he had held her with. Tucked under his other arm was a small chest. Rachel noticed a fish hook had been stabbed into it. She looked back to Zoro only to see him looking away. She shook her head and turned around. His actions just pegged him as the 'box killer' in her mind.

The two swam up to the deck. Zoro set the box down when he noticed Rachel swimming for the area that looked like it was either the Captain's Quarters or the galley. Upon arrival they found that it was the Captain's Quarters. Rachel began shifting and shoving things out of her way that she could move on her own. Things that were too heavy for her Zoro took care of. They soon found a safe that was tucked away in a corner of the bed. A portion of the bed had been cut out to make room for it. Rachel tied a cloth onto it and took one last look around the sunken room. Finding it more destroyed and useless than before she and Zoro entered.

Rachel motioned for Zoro to go ahead of her to the surface. He swam to the box then stopped. He just stood/swam in spot. He made it clear through actions he wasn't going without her. Rachel smiled to herself at the action. He was more or less telling her she wasn't going to do anything completely alone in this sunken ship. Although she did wonder why he allowed her to split up at the beginning if he was behaving like this now.

Missy was playing a game of solitair on the ship's main computer. It was a massive gaming experience and she began to wonder if she could hook up her gaming systems to it. Then she began to wonder if Rachel would allow it or if she should just go ahead and do it since the computers were her area anyway. She jumped to her feet in fright when the communication whistle sounded unexpectedly. "We've found some items that look promising," Rachel's voice came over the line. "Go ahead and drop the crane with the hooks attached."

"Jeese woman," Missy took a deep breath. "You know how to give a girl a heart attack." Missy hadn't touched the button so Rachel couldn't hear the comment. Lord knew she didn't need to give that one any more ammo to use against her. She finally did push the button once she calmed down. "I'll lower it right away. Give me a minute or two." Missy walked out of the bridge and towards the hangar.

Rachel looked towards the surface of the water as they waited. Zoro paid more attention to their surroundings. He wasn't as concerned on the crane as he was the water life. If Rachel and Missy were both from a different world he wondered if they knew about sea kings. It was unlikely considering how relaxed Rachel was. Initially he hadn't been worried, the sand bar had been too shallow for them. But being this deep, with so many fish around and in the open... He wished he had at least brought one of his swords down with him. It would have caused rust in the long run, but he didn't care as long as it wasn't Wado. If it meant saving both of their lives he would gladly bring one of the nameless swords into the water with him.

The hooks took a few minutes, but they finally reached Rachel. "Keep 'em coming," she said through the mic. Hopefully Missy had the foresight to channel the comm to the hangar. "I need a lot of slack. I have two chests I want to have carried out of here. Zoro's cradling a smaller one like a baby."

Missy snickered as she continued to lower the crane line. "I'm almost at the end of the cable," she announced. "I don't want to give all the line out. It'll put too much stress on the pully if the cable is fully extented."

"Okay, stop it for a minute. Let me see if this is enough slack for the closest chest." Rachel took the line and swam to the Captain's Quarters. The line had less obstacles to go through. Rachel looped the line around the safe and headed back out. Before she exited the doorway she was pushed back in by Zoro.

He pushed her against the wall and motioned with his hands for her to not move. Rachel scrunched her face, wondering what had gotten into him. She was about to push him off when a large shadow blocked what light came into the room. Rachel froze with her hands on Zoro's chest. She glanced at him in wonder. Zoro wasn't looking at her. He was looking towards the ceiling with his eyes narrowed. Carefully, Rachel looked to the gage on her oxygen tank. If there was a shark hunting outside they could be down here a long time. Rachel stifled a groan when she saw the tank only had fifteen minutes. She carefully pulled Zoro's gauge to look at. He had bigger lungs then her, so his was probably worse off. Sure enough, he had only seven minutes left.

Feeling the tug, Zoro looked down at Rachel. She was looking at a device on the oxygen tank he was wearing. She looked up and shook her head. She held up seven fingers and pointed to him and then his tank. She motioned he had to leave soon. Zoro grit his teeth at the perceived information. If he had to leave so soon he chanced facing the sea king that was swimming around. Personally he was surprised they had lasted as long as they did without it showing up. With as much swimming around as they had done it must have drawn it in. That, or the sound of the barrel breaking when he threw the fish hook at the barrel. Zoro cursed himself over that one, he needed to work on his temper more. If them swimming around hadn't attracted the sea king then it was him. If they were going to keep doing dives like this for any time in the foreseeable future he couldn't make mistakes like that.

The shadow swam above them once again. Rachel spoke in a quiet voice. "We've got a problem," she whispered. Hopefully Missy could understand her through the distortion. "There's a large shark swimming around. It could be similar to a Great White. But it seems a lot bigger than that. I need you to go up to the bridge. Call me and let me know when you're there, quietly."

Missy strained to hear what Rachel was saying. She understood that there was a shark in the area and that Rachel wanted her to go back to the bridge. Missy locked the controls on the crane, hoping the shark wouldn't get tangled or attack the line. She rushed up to the bridge. She pushed the comm button. "I'm there," she spoke in a calm manner.

"Look at the Captain Station behind the Helm," Rachel instructed quietly. Missy rushed over to where Rachel had indicated. It was full of sea charts from the Jamaican Islands and Florida down to the Bermuda Triangle. "There should be a console of different buttons off to the upper right corner." Missy's gaze shifted to find the area. "There's a small yellow button labeled 'Pulse'. Push it once and release." Missy pushed the button and waited.

Under the water, Rachel prayed with every fiber of her being that the engineers had installed the sound device. It was supposed to be installed in every new Stealth Class ship. Some research would require divers. The 'Pulse' was designed to repel a shark or even a shark swarm in case they came between the divers and the actual ship. Rachel looked out the window, hoping for some indication that it worked. A loud screech caused both her and Zoro to cover their ears.

The screech only lasted for a few seconds, but Rachel's ears were ringing. She carefully pulled her hands away. Zoro did the same and went to the door. He looked up and then around the ship. Off in the distance he spotted the sea king swimming off and disappearing in the water. He gave Rachel a signal that it was all clear and left the room. "It worked Miss," Rachel announced. "The shark is taking off like a bat out of hell. You can head back to the crane. I'll work tying up the last chest."

"What the hell was it you had me do?" Missy asked.

"It was a sound based shark repellent," Rachel explained. "I guess it also works for the creatures of this world too. But I never heard sharks give noises of distress when it's been used before. I wonder if they're more sensitive here."

"You should ask your boyfriend about it," Missy smirked. She switched off the comm and headed back to the crane.

"What do you mean by that!?" Rachel demanded. She continued to rant as she motioned for Zoro to start making his way up. When he refused she pointed to his gauge. He had two minutes of air left. Rachel was down to ten minutes so she needed to get this done fast. Zoro begrudgingly started to make his way up, small chest tucked to his side again and followed the cables to The Harbinger. Rachel swam into the interior of the ship with the second hook.

Making her way through as fast as she could she hooked up the chest she marked. "Not to mention I barely know the guy," her rant kept going on.

"I think the woman doth protest too much," Missy's voice was heard. "Were you ranting this whole time?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I just turned the comm back on," Missy laughed. "I was heading back to the crane."

"We're going to have some words, you and I, when I get back on board the ship." Rachel was practically hissing as she spoke. "For now, pull in the cargo. I have to guide this one through the ship." Missy started to pull in the crane cables. "Be careful and go slow, I don't want... SON OF A BITCH!"

Missy stopped bringing up the line. "What happened?" she asked.

"The chest broke open when it hit the wall because you were going too fast," Rachel seethed. There was something to her voice that Missy couldn't place. Almost like it was strained. "I have to unhook this chest. Give me a minute to check the other chest wasn't damaged."

"What was in that chest?" Missy asked in curiosity. If she broke it open then Rachel would know what was in it now.

"Useless crap," Rachel's strained voice returned. "Give me a minute." Now Missy was starting to get worried. Rachel was usually super calm in the water. She understood that a panic attack would do more harm than good. In another two minutes Rachel's voice came back. "It's in good condition. Haul up as fast as you can without straining the crane."

"You said go slow," Missy pointed out.

"That was before when we were raising the wooden chest. The safe is steel or something. It'll hold if it hits wood, but you've pulled it onto the deck so now it just has free water to deal with. I'm grabbing my marker lines and submersible. I'll be up in a minute."

Missy was raising the line as fast as safely possible. Rachel never told her to rush anything without a good reason. She was a little surprised to see Zoro come out of the water. One hand held onto the cable and the other had a box. Before she could stop or even slow down the crane Zoro swung across the gap and into the ship. He put the box down and started taking off his gear. Missy would have helped him, but she needed to pay attention to when the safe broke through the surface. She didn't have to wait for very long. Once she saw the safe she slowed the speed on the crane. The chest rose out of the water and Missy swung it into The Harbinger.

Rachel swam as fast as she was able using her right hand. Her other arm was clutched protectively to her chest. She had been cut when the chest broke open. Apparently pirates liked to keep swords and knives locked in a chest. Didn't really make a lot of sense to her, she thought they would want to keep those close by. Either way, she had to make it to the submersible and out of the water as quickly as possible. No doubt the blood she was spilling would start to draw out unwanted attention despite their use of The Harbinger's pulse. She reached the submersible and began making her way back to the sand bar as fast as possible. She winced, needing to use her injured arm to hold on. Once she made it to the sand bar she pointed the submersible to the surface.

Once at the lifeboat, Rachel tied the submersible to the side so it wouldn't sink again. She then struggled to climb back into the boat. She had just rolled over the side when she felt something brush against her leg. Freaking out a little she checked her leg. Luckily there was no break in the wet suit. Looking out to the water, there was nothing noticeable to make her worry about being attacked while in the boat. She brushed the feeling off as being her imagination.

Struggling out of the top half of the wet suit, Rachel hurried to assess the damage on her arm. The cut wasn't deep, but it would no doubt need stitches due to the length. Fortunately it wasn't close to the brachial vein. She wouldn't need to worry about blood loss. Although blood was still flowing out of it. Rachel found a spare towel and wrapped it like a bandage around the wound as much as she could using only one hand.

Once that was finished she struggled to pull up the anchor using her uninjured arm. It was slow going and painful. But it had to be done if she wanted to get back to The Harbinger. Once the anchor was secured, Rachel went to the wheel. She started the engine and slowly made her way back. Following the standard procedure she managed to get the boat in the crane cables Missy had lowered again. Apparently Rachel took longer than she thought. Just as Missy was swinging the boat around Rachel noticed Zoro. He was eyeing her closely, more specifically the towel she had tied around her upper arm.

Rachel pointed at a white box with a red cross. "That's the first aid kit," she announced. "I need you to bring that to me."

"What happened!?" Missy demanded.

"That chest you broke open had swords and knives," Rachel explained. "I was trying to guide the chest and was close enough that one of them got me." She was starting to get out of the boat when Zoro stopped her. Instead of letting her drop down, he lifted her and put her down on the main floor gently so not to disturb her injury. He then pulled her by her good arm and pushed her to sit down in a chair.

Zoro opened the first aid kit and looked bewildered. Rachel pointed out a bottle with a green label. "That's the disinfectant, you need to spray that on the wound after we clean up the blood a little bit." Rachel then pointed to a white bottle with a blue label. "That's the anti-bacterial, spray that on just before putting on the bandages."

"Why not have Missy do this?" Zoro asked.

"Only if you want me to faint," Missy hollered from across the room. She pointedly kept her back turned to them.

Zoro kept quiet the rest of the while he bandaged Rachel's arm. Once the blood was out of sight Missy approached. She had another towel that the two worked to act as a sling so Rachel wouldn't reopen the wound as she moved. Once she was set, Rachel stood to her feet and made for the Bridge. "Oi," Zoro called out. "Where are you going?"

"I need to see a doctor," Rachel announced. "I don't know about you, but I'm not certified to put in stitches. Not to mention that I need this cleaned out with more than just first aid disinfectant. Who knows what kind of bacteria was in that water. We're moving on to the next major harbor that's nearby."

"What about the island that's nearby?" Johnny asked.

"Where have you two been?" Missy asked. Johnny and Yosaku flinched at her question. "What's wrong with you two?"

"You were in demon mode from lack of caffeine this morning," Rachel answered. "You kind of took it out on them."

Missy shrugged her shoulders as she walked past them. "Next time don't try to get my attention before I've had my coffee."

It took The Harbinger three hours to reach the next island. Johnny and Yosaku stared at the island in wonder. "It normally takes a full day," Yosaku pointed out. "And that's only if you have a favorable wind."

"The current usually pushes against you," Johnny agreed. "But there's something on this ship that makes it go fast even without using wind."

Keeping the unopened chests on The Harbinger for now, Rachel got into the lifeboat with help from Zoro. "All ashore who's going ashore," she called. Johnny and Yosaku decided to join them this time. The lifeboat pulled up to the dock instead of trying to keep it secret. Zoro looked at Rachel in question. "I don't have time to worry about details," she said. "I need to see a doctor as fast as possible."

Johnny and Yosaku went to the Marine base to see if there's any new wanted posters. Zoro stayed with Rachel as she made her way to the doctor. It didn't take too long to be seen, mostly because it was the end of the day and the doctor wanted them to leave. The length of time they spent there was mostly to see to Rachel's stitches. It hurt without getting the injections to numb the area. She was expecting as much, since the technology seemed to be further behind then her home world. She just had to wait until she was back on the ship before she could take some painkillers.

Once the bandage was set and an actual sling put around the arm the doctor began asking about payment. Rachel pointed out to the harbor. "My ship is just off shore," she answered. "We're treasure hunters of a sort and just came in after a haul. That's how I got hurt. We were a little careless bringing one of the chests up from the sea. We'll be in town for a few days, stocking up on supplies and getting a quote on what the treasure is worth. If you let me go to my ship really quick I can pay you within the hour."

The doctor had a scowl on his face and crossed his arms. He wasn't going to believe her or her story. No one could really blame him. No one wanted to be jilted out of payment for their services. Before Rachel could do or say anything else, Zoro placed a handful of coins on the tabletop. "Is that enough?" he asked.

"I can't ask you to pay for it," Rachel protested.

"Then you can pay me back when we get to the ship," Zoro argued. "You really shouldn't have forgotten the money you recieved from the bounty." Rachel's lower lip jutted out in a pout. Zoro quickly looked away and to the doctor. "Is it enough?" he asked again.

"You're five coins short," the doctor eyeballed the small pile. He was surprised when five coins joined the others for a total of thirty-one coins. Zoro took hold of Rachel by her good arm and dragged her out the door without another word. He really didn't like doctors. They liked to tell him to wait before training after he was injured. Not to mention he fully believes this one robbed them blind.

Once she got over the shock of Zoro paying and dragging her out of there Rachel headed back for the lifeboat. Zoro accompanied her once again. "You know," she started to point out. "Not only did you not have to do that, the original deal was to get you to the next island. Johnny and Yosaku seemed eager to go seperate ways. You don't have to stick around."

"If I hadn't paid you would be sitting in the Marine Base facing some sort of charges right now. You also mentioned earlier that Missy doesn't handle blood very well," Zoro pointed out. "Who's going to change that bandage on your arm? Besides, you promised to help me once we got to the town," Zoro reminded. "I'm not leaving until you fulfill that promise. I also helped you bring up that treasure. You said it yourself, I could have a take if I helped. Also, I don't think those two are as gone as you think." True to his word, just before the boat pulled away the two in question jumped in, trying to catch their breath.

"Right," Rachel nodded her head. "You want help clothes shopping and money." She pointedly ignored the complaints from the other two as they sprouted on how they couldn't believe their big bro would almost leave them like that.

"Don't say it like that," Zoro growled.

"What would you call it?"

"Getting only what I need."

"You need clothes and money."

"So?"

"Fine, call it what you want. But we still need to return to the ship. That way you can eventually get your half of the treasure we pulled up today."

"Don't we get a part of the treasure too?" Yosaku asked.

"What exactly did you two do?" Zoro asked them.

"We stayed out of the way," Johnny answered in a self-important manner. Yosaku nodded his head in full agreement.

When they got back to the ship Missy already had the safe opened. The hinges had been destroyed and the lock pulled apart. "How did you..." Rachel started.

"You have a lot of toys in the hangar," Missy smiled. "I'm sure they were meant to work on the equipment of the ship, but they make nice safe crackers."

"Another thing we have to talk about," Rachel shook her head. "So, what was in the safe?"

"Water logged paper," Missy shrugged.

"What?" Rachel looked inside to confirm what Missy said. "All that work for trash?"

Zoro looked inside the safe and his eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. "What do you mean 'trash'?" He looked back to the two women. "Do either of you have any idea what those are?"

"Waste of trees," Missy immediately answered.

"What are they Zoro?" Rachel asked.

"Those are Beri notes," Zoro answered.

Johnny looked around Zoro and let out a low whistle. "And a lot of them too," he added.

"Let's just assume, for a minute, that we don't know what those are." Missy put a hand on her hip.

"You've got to be kidding me," Yosaku rubbed a hand down his face in frustration. "Beri! Money! The currency of the World Government!?"

"Now that you mention it," Rachel looked a little closer. "They do kind of resemble what the last island gave us for that bounty. Plus they look like old fashioned dollar bills."

"Dollar bills?" Now it was the mens turn to look confused.

"Now I get it," Missy smacked her forehead. "It totally makes sense now. Different world, different currency."

"I didn't realize that they had two different kinds of paper currency," Rachel closed her eyes in thought. "The stack from the marines was about two inches thick."

"That's what the poorer islands commonly use," Zoro said. "In fact, you hardly ever see Beri Notes worth this much in the East Blue. Those are worth fifty beris each."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Missy snapped. She got right into Johnny's face. "The bounty on that guy was worth fifteen thousand. That means each of you got over seven thousand. There didn't seem like that many pieces of paper. How much Beri's is one of those notes worth?"

"The notes from the bounty are ten Beri's," Johnny sweated as he answered.

After thinking about it for a minute, Missy whirled on Rachel. "How many of those notes were in your take?"

"I never really counted," Rachel admitted.

"Seven hundred and fifty," Zoro supplied.

"And you didn't think to question their worth?"

"I had a lot on my mind."

"So after you bought all that stuff, how many do you have now?"

"I spent two notes," Rachel looked up thoughtfully. "Which means that I have seven hundred and forty-eight left. Oh, nevermind on that. I have to pay Zoro back for the doctor visit."

Missy's eyes slowly shifted to the notes sitting in a soggy mess in the safe. "I'll ignore the doctor bit for now. How many of those notes are in there?" she asked shakily.

"It looks like fifty bundles," Rachel answered. "But that's just a rough guess. Might be more or less."

Missy turned to look at Zoro. "Do you know how many notes are in a bundle?" He shook his head in the negative. She looked to the other two and they also shook their heads. None of them had ever bothered with knowing that particular detail when it came to Notes.

Rachel swooped over to the safe and started gathering the money in one arm, placing a few in the sling holding her left arm still. "Let's take the bundles to the galley," she said. "We'll lay out the bills as much as we can. We might have to dry them out in shifts because of the lack of room. But it will at least give us an estimate about how much this is worth."

"What about the chest big bro brought back up?" Yosaku asked. "Have you guys opened that one yet?"

"I haven't touched it," Missy admitted. "Mostly because it has something sticking out of it."

"What's the story behind that anyway?" Rachel asked.

"I might have lost my temper," Zoro mumbled.

"Might have?" Missy asked.

"Why did you take it out on the poor box?" Rachel teased. She gave a smirk when Missy started snickering behind her.

"I didn't know that it was there," Zoro defended himself. "I was checking a barrel that looked like a pirate was guarding. When I opened it all that was there was gun powder. I threw the fish hook at it, thinking I wasted time. Black powder went everywhere."

"Explains the filth of your clothes," Missy pointed out.

"That's when the box was revealed!" Johnny cried out.

"Our Big Bro is so awesome," Yosaku cheered.

"If that's the case," Rachel started pondering. When she couldn't hold anymore bundles in one arm she started for the stairs. The others grabbed their own load and followed her. "I'm assuming that noise down there was you throwing the hook. I gotta ask, what took you so long to return to the hatch?"

"I didn't see it at first," Zoro relented. "I went further in, but didn't see anything worth any attention. As I was coming back I noticed the hook sticking out of something. Getting closer I found the chest. Not wanting to make you wait I didn't try to take the hook out before coming and meeting back up with you. Besides, it looked like you had already been waiting for a little while."

In the galley, Rachel set her bundles on the table. "We'll start with this one," she announced. "Spread the notes out singularly so they dry better. As you do that, count how many notes you lay out. We'll then figure out how many bundles we have and how much money we just hauled in."

It took a few minutes, but the single bundle was finally spread out on the table and counters of the galley. All together it turned out to be two hundred notes. "That's ten thousand Beris," Rachel calculated in her head.

"Come again," Missy said in a quiet voice.

"WE'RE RICH!" Johnny and Yosaku started dancing around. "We never have to work again."

"Hold it right there you two," Missy snapped. "Exactly what did either of you do to earn even a single one of those notes?"

"We stayed out of the way," Yosaku stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world once again.

"Rachel and Zoro did most of the work," Missy argued. "So most of the money will go to them. Personally, I think I'll let the two of you split one bundle. That's your share for 'staying out of the way'."

"That's cold," Johnny pouted.

"For the amount of work relative to income it's more than fair." Missy sent a glare their way, daring them to challenge her. "Personally, I'll be taking five bundles myself. I did keep communications open and work the crane."

"That leaves twenty-two bundles between Zoro and I," Rachel calculated. "So around two hundred thousand beri."

Zoro gave a smirk, "Not bad." He fingered the two regular swords at his side. "I could use some work done on these. Or get new ones, which ever is better."

"Your swords look a little rough Bro," Johnny agreed.

"You should get new ones," Yosaku agreed.

"Freeze!" Rachel got into Zoro's face. "You're not buying anything else except clothing at the moment. Even if I have to drag you by the ear."

"Not to mention," Missy started laughing. "You guys are spending the money before you actually have it."

"Of course we have it," Yosaku protested.

"In a way," Missy agreed. "But stores won't accept it until it's dried out." Silence spread across the room as the thought hit them. Rachel joined Missy in her snickering.


	8. Red Sky

I make no money off of this work of fiction. One Piece and it's characters are the work of Oda Eiichiro.

 **Harbinger**

Chapter Seven: Red Sky

Everyone went to do their own thing while they waited for the Notes to dry. Rachel wanted to hit the gym on the ship, but it was difficult without the full use of one of her arms. Missy went to playing with the computer on the Bridge. Johnny and Yosaku got permission from Zoro to open the chest he had found. They went looking for the tools Missy had used for the safe, but they couldn't find anything close to what she had described. Zoro wandered around the ship for a while. He eventually found himself on the deck.

Looking around the deck, Zoro stopped when he noticed the helicopter. Not having had a good look at it yet he headed towards the strange device. It didn't look like anything special to him. It had some odd blades on top and a tail. It sort of reminded Zoro of a frog that hadn't quite lost it's tail as a tadpole. The helicopter didn't keep his interest for too long. He sat down against it, swords tucked to his chest and fell asleep.

Rachel didn't spend a lot of time on her workout. She could really only work her legs and right arm. Once she was finished she went to the cargo hold. There was a section that was designated for replacement cargo. The navy had it stocked and ready for a full crew so it could go on it's official missions within the week of returning. Unfortunately that didn't look like it was a possibility any longer.

Rachel started to sift through the boxes, reading labels and dismissing them. After looking for forty-five minutes she finally found what she was looking for. Boxes of replacement uniforms and gear. She sifted through the boxes some more before coming across one that suited her needs. The box was on the shelf that was waist high on her. Convient to open and sift through, just not for her to pull down without risking further injury. Opening the box was several pairs of black combat boots.

Zoro grunted when he felt something land in his lap. He squinted one eye open to see Rachel standing over him with her hand on her hip. "What?" he asked as his eye slid closed again.

"I need you to try those on."

Zoro opened his eyes again. "Try what on?" He finally looked down to what was in his lap and saw a few pairs of boots. "What are these for?"

"I can't imagine that it's easy to fight in sandals," Rachel pointed out. "I brought several sizes of boots because I didn't know yours. The boots will make it easier for you to move in a fight and not lose your footing at the same time. Not to mention you won't find better foot protection if you tried." She then tossed a pair of socks into Zoro's face.

Zoro scoffed, but began putting the socks on anyway. "How are these the best?"

"They're US Military Issue," Rachel answered. "The finest quality of material as well as a steel toe."

"What steel toe?" Zoro looked closer at the boots. "I don't see any steel."

"It's sewn into the leather at the toe," Rachel explained. "You won't see it until you've worn the leather down enough to expose it. There's an insert put on the inside to cushion your feet from the steel as well. Go ahead and try them on."

Zoro picked a pair that looked closer to his foot size and put them on. "Is it normal for my toes feel squished?"

"How squished?"

"I can't move them."

"Then those aren't your size," Rachel smirked. "They're clearly too small." She knelt down and looked at the boots he wore then the ones strewn about. She picked a pair and held them out to Zoro with her right hand. "This pair is two sizes bigger. By your description it sounds like the next size up would be too small as well."

After taking off the first pair Zoro tried on the next offered pair. "That's a lot better," he admitted.

"Try walking around a bit," Rachel suggested. "Just to make sure that they don't pinch and fail in the field." Once again following her advice, Zoro stood up and started walking around the deck. He walked for a full five minutes before Rachel's voice stopped him. "Any problems?"

"They feel fine," Zoro answered.

"Would you admit it if they caused pain?" Rachel had an eyebrow raised at him. "I might be able to find you a bigger pair if I kept looking."

"I said they're fine." Zoro picked up his swords and headed for some open space. "I'm going to train with these on. If they don't work I'll let you know."

"Fair enough," Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "I'll just put these ones away. Once the Notes are dry we'll head to town again and get you 'the things you need'." Zoro grunted as he set his sword sheaths down. "Do you always carry your swords around like that?"

"Got nothing to tie them to," Zoro said through the sword clenched between his teeth. He started to swing and move like he was facing a foe. Rachel watched him for a long moment before heading back into the ship to put the smaller boots away and start dinner.

Once that was finished she called Missy from the bridge and to get Zoro on her way down. Rachel then turned on the PA and called the other two for dinner. It wasn't long before Johnny and Yosaku were seated and waiting, looking slightly depressed. "What's the matter?" Rachel asked.

"Big Bro trusted us," Yosaku moaned.

"And this is a bad thing?" Rachel couldn't quite figure out what they were upset about.

"Aniki let us try to open the chest that he found," Johnny explained. "We looked everywhere for the tools to open it that Missy described. But we couldn't find a Dinglehopper anywhere."

"What did you just say!?"

Missy came walking in and looking around. "So Zoro isn't here already," she commented.

"Last I saw Zoro he was training on the deck," Rachel said.

"Well he's not there now," Missy shrugged.

"I'll go look for him in a second," Rachel shook her head. She faced Missy and put a hand on her hip. "A Dinglehopper, huh?" Missy started laughing so hard she had to sit down. Rachel let out a sigh and started out the door. "I'll get you some tools for that chest in a little while guys," Rachel placated Johnny and Yosaku. She then left the galley to search the ship, starting with the deck. Finding no one there, she checked the Bridge and then headed back down further into the ship. Rachel spent a half an hour looking for Zoro. She found him standing in front of a door with a perplexed expression on his face. "Do you need something Zoro?" she asked. She had a teasing tone to her voice.

Zoro stiffened at her question and then turned to face her. "This ship is too large," he complained. "You keep moving the rooms around."

"What room did you think that was?" Rachel asked.

"I heard your voice say it was time to eat," Zoro said.

"So you thought that room is the galley?"

"It's supposed to be," Zoro pointed out.

"Well the galley is this way," Rachel pointed back the way she came.

"What about this room?"

"It's the CO's room."

"'CO'?"

"'Commanding Officer'," Rachel clarified. "Or to be more specific, my room." Zoro's back stiffened further, if that was even possible. "So I'll ask again, is there something that you need?"

"Uh, n-nothing," Zoro stuttered as he tried to get over his shock. He never wanted to step into a woman's room uninvited. He took a step back and turned on his heel. He was now facing Rachel who had an amused smirk on. "We should join the others."

"Sure thing," Rachel laughed as she turned around. "Follow me and stay close, we don't want you getting lost again."

"I wasn't lost."

"So you were hoping to find me in my room for any particular reason?" A stagnant silence filled the air. "Keep telling me you weren't lost and I'll keep teasing you about going to my room for one reason or another."

The two made it to the galley without further conversation. Rachel let out a small laugh every now and then when she thought of the look on Zoro's face when he learned he almost walked into her room. Zoro would only turn red, not wanting to tempt her teasing further. Somehow this woman had a way of turning his feelings inside out. Feelings were a weakness that could be used against him in his goal. It shouldn't be this hard to ignore them.

As they sat down for dinner Missy eyed Rachel closely and the restraint she was putting in to not laugh for no reason. Once all the men had finally left the room Missy finally turned to Rachel. "Okay girl, spill."

Rachel just busted out laughing and put her head down on the table. It took her a few minutes before she calmed down enough to finally tell Missy where she had found Zoro. Once the story was out Missy couldn't contain her laughter either. "Oh, he is never living this down." Missy stood and started to gather the dishes. "I can't wait for an opportunity to tease him about it."

"I don't think you'll have to wait long," Rachel also picked up some dishes. "He seems to be emotionally stunted. He'll leave himself open plenty of times for your opportunity." Rachel placed the dishes on the counter in front of Missy then turned to leave.

"You're not going to help?" Missy accused.

"Did you help cook?" Rachel looked over her shoulder.

"Well..."

"My point exactly," Rachel left the room with a wave. She headed towards the deck and leaned on the railing that faced the island. In the distance she could see the lamps of the town starting to flicker on. Her eyes shifted to the helicopter. Not having used it for a full day gave the solar battery plenty of time to charge. Not to mention she was extremely bored with restrictions on her left arm. Rachel's shoulders slumped as she thought about it. She needed both arms to be able to operate it.

"What's got you down?" Rachel looked to see Zoro. He approached while blinking his eyes rapidly.

"Just bored," Rachel tilted her head to the side. "But why are you blinking so much?"

"Just worked up a good sweat," Zoro dismissed. Rachel made another mental note of something to add to Zoro's ever growing list of 'things I need'.

The next day came with a red sun. Rachel stood on deck, glaring at the offensive star. Zoro paused in his hand-stand/push-ups. The way she was standing so stiffly was slightly unnerving. "What's up?" he called out to her.

Rachel turned her head enough for Zoro to see her profile. "A storm is coming," she answered. Her eyes never left the horizon.

"What's the big deal about a little rain?" Zoro shrugged and restarted his work out.

"That's the thing," Rachel turned around and headed for the bridge. "This isn't going to be a little rain." Zoro stood up to his feet and stared after her. Rachel paused at the stairs leading to the bridge. She turned to stare Zoro in the face. The serious look on her face caught Zoro's attention. He had quickly learned in the last two days that Rachel and Missy were almost never serious. "Sailors have a saying back in our home world. When I joined the navy my dad made sure to impress the importance of it. Even before what we would consider modern technology that could predict weather the saying almost always proved true."

"So what's the saying?" Yosaku asked as he and Johnny came up from below.

Rachel started up the stairs. "'Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning'. We need to move The Harbinger to a location where it won't be rattled by waves, capsize or pushed ashore." The three men stared after her in confusion. They had never heard a saying like that before, even from the various navy port towns.

Rachel stood at the helm and spread out the map she had bought from the first island. She marked the place they were currently located. Every now and then she looked up to the horizon and the sea. Her eyes shifted from side to side as she looked at the clouds. Rachel then looked back down to her map. "The winds will most likely come from the west. We're currently on the western most side of the island." Rachel's finger traced the island to it's eastern shores. "There are a lot of beaches on this island. But there is one cliff. Unfortunately it's on the northern side of the island. Of course nothing can be easy. The best option is the island north of here. That's almost nothing except cliffs. The problem will be getting there before the storm." Rachel once again glanced at the horizon. "I guess there's only one way to find out." She pushed the button for the PA system. "We're leaving this island," she announced. "If any of you gents plan to stay here then now's your chance. You're free to bail and swim to shore, but this ship is leaving and I mean yesterday."

Rachel pulled the lever that would raise the anchor. As she was starting the engine Missy came barging in with a mug of coffee. "You better have a good reason," she snapped. "The doctor that did your stitches is here."

"There's a storm coming."

"So?"

"It's strong enough to spill your coffee."

"What are you waiting for girl!?" Rachel had a victorious smirk as she started Harbinger's engine. She was just pushing on the throttle when the three men finally made an appearance on the bridge. Missy had taken a seat in front of the radar system. Without a satellite to link to the station it was basically useless. The only radar that worked was the close range.

"Keep an eye on the wind," Rachel instructed. She pointed to a number on the radar. "It tells how fast the wind is moving. It should start to pick up speed soon. I'm hoping to get a good distance between us and this island before then."

"Why not just stay here?" Yosaku asked.

"It'll maroon the ship," Rachel answered. "The winds and waves will push us closer to shore and strand us in a sand bar. We'll never be able to move the ship then."

"You could ask the marines to use their ships and help pull The Harbinger out if you ever needed it," Johnny suggested. "They do that for merchant ships all the time."

"Care to take a guess how much a ship made entirely out of steel weighs?" Missy asked. She was laughing at the suggestion. "I'd be more willing to bet that the marine ships would fall apart before Harbinger moved an inch."

"It's a non-issue," Rachel cut in. "You two can stop your debate before it starts. I'm not about to let Harbinger run ashore and you all can help me."

"How so?"

"Someone needs to go and secure the helicopter," Rachel explained. "Either Missy can do it or one of you guys can, but you have to follow my directions exactly." Johnny and Yosaku volunteered to help. After Rachel quickly explained what they needed to find and how to secure the helicopter down they left the bridge.

"So what about the two of us?" Missy asked. She was indicating herself and Zoro.

"Missy, the controls for the door locks are over there by the weapons station. I just need you to lock all the doors." Rachel manuevered the wheel and steered the ship around the island. "Zoro, I need you keep an eye on the sky around the sun. Let me know when the clouds start to get dark."

They were on the move for a half hour when Missy called out. "The wind speed just jumped to forty-five," she announced. Rachel pushed the throttle down further. The engine grew louder with the effort to go faster. "Hey Chel," Missy called out in concern. "Is the engine really ready for that kind of use?"

"It'll be fine," Rachel said. "This is a brand new engine after all." The waves started to get more choppy the longer they were travelling. "Just keep an eye on that wind speed and the size of the waves."

"Why is that?" Johnny asked.

"We don't want to have giant waves at our back," Rachel explained. "If the waters get too rough I have to turn the ship to face into the waves. That way we have a shot of cutting through the wave before it crests. Otherwise it'll capsize us. Now, unless it's to tell me conditions are worsening, keep quiet and let me concentrate."

Half an hour later and Johnny was the first to spot land. "There it is," he shouted. The roar of the rain hitting the roof was almost enough to drown him out. Seeing where he pointed, the others concentrated. It was hard to see through the heavy rain, but the others managed to see the blurry outline of an island in the distance.

"Then we made it," Yosaku let out a sigh of relief.

"Not yet," Zoro pointed out. "We haven't even reached the island yet. Besides, I think that Rachel wanted to be on the east side."

"Provided that there isn't a current that will send us back to the island," Rachel said. "The cliffs will give us ample protection from the wind." It was a rough half hour later, but they managed to get to the cliffs that would provide shelter.

"You all can go do something inside the ship," Rachel said. "Until the storm passes, you shouldn't go outside though."

"You're not going to go in too?" Johnny asked.

"Someone needs to keep a lookout in case there are any changes," Rachel said. "You wouldn't want to be caught off guard by a water sprout, right?"

Johnny, Yosaku and Melissa took the door off the bridge that led directly down into the ship instead of going outside. Zoro made himself comfortable on the bridge with Rachel. "You could go and train in the galley."

"I've already had a decent work out today," Zoro dismissed. "Besides, two sets of eyes are better than one. I also had a question."

"Shoot," Rachel sat in front of Zoro. She was wondering what could possibly make Zoro that curious about her.

"You know a lot about sailing," Zoro pointed out. "While Johnny and Yosaku only know the bare basics."

"Don't you know how to sail?" Rachel asked.

"Enough not to sink the boat."

"It's a wonder you've survived then," Rachel shook her head. "Any CO worth their salt will know how to handle nearly every job on the bridge if it becomes necessary. A person can't become a good leader or role model unless they're willing to do the jobs of those under their command. Learning to read a nautical map, and reading weather patterns to a certain extent, are all things that any decent commander or captain is capable of. I know I say this a lot, but the military in my world is thorough. You don't get to a commanding position without putting in the time and effort."

"You seem awfully young to be a commander then," Zoro said.

"Normally you're right," Rachel agreed. "However, my circumstances are a bit more unusual than most. I was fascinated with the military. My dad used to be army. He had even been in one of the worst wars in history. I never grew tired of listening to his stories. It wasn't just my dad though. His father, my grandpa, and his brother, my uncle, were also in the army."

"What's the difference between army and what you do?"

"Navy should be obvious," Rachel smiled when Zoro nodded. "The army are soldiers that fight on land. They wouldn't be very good in a nautical battle. But on land they can get pretty nasty."

"Do you miss home?"

"Of course I do," Rachel's eyes shifted to look outside every now and then. "My family is there, probably thinking I'm dead by now."

"What would happen if you can't go back home?"

"I suppose I'll have to find a new goal."

 **AN: Sorry this chapter was a few days later than normal. I was in the middle of my work week when the 11th hit. Since I work 12 hour days I get pretty tired by the time I make it back to my laptop. Yes, I do work Sundays, much to my disappointment. Plus side is I get three days off. I've been busy getting ready to go on vacation. Lot's of stuff to pack and planning to do beforehand.**


	9. Ghost Town Exploration

I make no money off of this work of fiction. One Piece and it's characters are the work of Oda Eiichiro.

 **Harbinger**

Chapter Eight: Ghost Town Exploration

The storm lasted for another two hours after reaching the new island. The cliff they hid behind blocked the worst of the wind and waves. Once the waves became less fierce Rachel moved Harbinger. They travelled around the island, looking for a port or even an indication of one on the island. It took some time before Missy finally spotted what they were looking for. Using a pair of binoculars Missy grew uneasy. "I don't know about that town though," she admitted. "It just doesn't feel right." She handed the binoculars to Rachel.

The sight that greeted Rachel filled her with the same unease. "It looks worn down," she announced. "The docks are falling apart and half in the water. Some of the sidings on the buildings roofs look overly worn." They weren't able to see past the outer houses. The village stood on the top of a cliff. With the angle they couldn't tell if it was a large or small town, or how many people were there.

"Then we should go to the next island," Johnny declared. "If the buildings are worn down the chances of this being a bandit or pirate den went up."

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Rachel grinned. She looked to everyone that had once again gathered on the bridge.

"I left it in my other pants back in my apartment," Missy announced.

"You were living in your parents house."

"Exactly."

"You're no fun," Rachel pouted. "So, anyone else interested in checking things out?"

"I'll go," Zoro stepped forward. After he volunteered Johnny and Yosaku were quick to join as well.

"I'm surrounded by idiots," Missy sighed. "If there's no danger to the ship I'll go too. But I swear that if I die I will kill you all."

Rachel, Zoro, Johnny and Yosaku gathered into the life boat while Missy operated the crane that would lower it to the water. Once that was finished and the crane back in start position Missy closed the side hatch and headed back to the deck. Rachel moved the boat to a spot next to the ship. The men were wondering why they were leaving Missy behind since it seemed like it would be her first time off of the ship since they had first met the strange women. A noise from above drew their attention. Missy had swung a leg over the side of the ship and was making her way down. It was then the three noticed what appeared to be a ladder built directly into the side of the ship.

Once she was close enough to the smaller boat Missy pushed off Harbinger and landed half hazardly in the life boat. "That was graceful," Rachel teased.

"You try jumping into a small boat that's already jammed full with people." Missy sat in her seat with a huff. Missy reached out and lightly slapped Zoro's arm. "Bet you're just wishing for Rachel to do that so you can catch her?" she teased.

"Why would I do that?" Zoro asked.

"I would have thought you'd look for any excuse to touch her since you were trying to sneak into her room."

"WHAT!?" Johnny and Yosaku shouted in unison. "Big Bro, how could you?"

"It's not like that!" Zoro yelled. He then glared at Rachel. "Did you really have to tell her about that!?" Rachel couldn't stop the laughter as she started the boat forward. Missy sat in the seat beside her, Zoro sat behind Rachel and the other two shared the remaining seat behind Missy.

The docks were in worse shape then they thought. The fish in the water using the wood for an alternate source of food, algea and rot taking their toll. Closer to the cliff was a set of stairs that led up the cliff to the town. "It's a pain to have to climb those," Rachel mused. "But I suppose if pirates ever tried to attack they wouldn't get very far."

"That's not the problem here," Missy snapped. "How are we going to get to those stairs in the first place? Not to mention that, once we do, how do we know they can support our weight?"

Rachel raised the motor out of the water. "Since we can't risk any stray bits of dock hitting the propeller we'll have to do this the old fashioned way." She got out of her seat and stood in front of Zoro. "Excuse me," she said. Without waiting for Zoro to say anything or move she bent down and started to feel the wall right next to his knee. Zoro tried to push himself back and out of the way, but the seat only allowed him to move so far. Missy was hiding her snickers behind a hand and pretending to cough. Johnny and Yosaku were oblivious as they continued to stare up the cliff.

Rachel finally straightened back up. In her had was an aluminum oar. She turned around and looked at the others. "There should be one on your side as well." Missy got up and moved the two out of her way. She found the oar as easily as Rachel had. The oars were placed into position.

"There you go," Missy shoved the oar to Johnny and Yosaku. "You two can help row to the stairs."

"Why can't you help?" Yosaku asked.

"Because I'm a lady," Missy folded her arms.

Rachel let out a scoff at her statement. "Since when?"

"Shut up."

"You know..."

"If you even start I won't wait till I'm dead to kill you."

"...it would be easier if you helped."

"That's what I thought. Anyway, you already have four people to row, two on each side. I'll help by guiding us in and telling you when to stop."

"Whatever you say," Rachel rolled her eyes. She knew better than to believe that excuse as the whole truth. Missy had just extorted a loophole to get out of doing manuel labor. Rachel took a position at the oar. She was closest to the side of the boat. Zoro came up and looked at the oar and then at the distance that they would have to row. "Is something the matter?"

"You should help Missy guide us to the stairs," Zoro answered.

"I'm not going to ask others to do manuel labor without doing it myself," Rachel argued.

"We already know that you're willing to help," Zoro said. "But it would be better if I used my own oar. Not to mention you're still injured."

"He's right Sis," Johnny called out. "Big Bro can handle the oar alone, he's really strong."

"Just let him Chel," Missy added. "If he wants to strain a muscle or get a hernia that's his problem." Rachel shrugged as she stepped away. "Besides, you'd be a better person to tie us to the stairs then I would be."

It took a few minutes for them to reach the stairs. It was a little difficult since Zoro was so much stronger than Johnny and Yosaku put together. They had to keep telling him to hold back on rowing. If he kept going at full strength then they would have ended up going around in circles and not reaching the cliff.

Once they finally reached the stairs Rachel was quick to tie an anchor rope to one of the posts. It was wobbly so Rachel tested it a few times to see if it would hold against the waves. Once she was satisfied that it would at least do the job she gave the clear to put away the oars.

"So how are we going to find out if the stairs will hold?" Johnny ask. He stood on the edge of the boat and looked to the worn stairs.

"There's only one way," Missy announced. She gave a hard shove on Johnny's back, effectively pushing him onto the stairs.

Johnny teetered from the force and surprise of the push. "Are you trying to drown me!?" he snapped.

"Not at all," Missy shook her head. "Trust me, if that was the case you would know."

"They look like they'll hold some weight," Rachel ignored the bickering. "Though, we should still be cautious about it. Go ahead and start climbing the stairs Johnny. When you reach the first landing the next person will start climbing. We don't want too much weight concentrated in one place. But the next question becomes, who goes next?"

"I'll be next," Yosaku announced. "Johnny's my partner and I won't let him go into any danger alone."

"We don't really know that," Zoro pointed out. "It might just be an abandoned town. There's plenty of those anywhere you go."

"Muscles has a point," Missy grinned.

"'Muscles'?" Zoro looked at Missy strangely.

Rachel let out a sigh as she picked up a back pack and swung it over her right shoulder. "Can we get back to the point here?" She gave Missy a look, letting her know that the jokes needed to be put on hold. "Zoro's right about the town. We don't really know if it's dangerous. At a guess, I would have to say that it's not. From a distance there was no activity in town, no smoke billowing out of chimney's for cook fires. The most danger we're likely to face is falling through the stairs as we make our way up and back down. But we should be okay if we keep a fair distance away from each other. We don't want to strain the already weak supports."

It was decided that Missy would climb after Yosaku, followed by Rachel and Zoro would be last. The climb for most everyone was uneventful. Zoro, however, had a few close calls when several boards broke under his feet. "Just proves he's the heaviest," Missy smirked. "All those muscles must weigh a ton."

"Just keep climbing," Zoro growled.

At the top, Johnny and Yosaku rushed into the town. They wanted to see if there was anything interesting that they could use. "Like children," Missy gave a laugh. She looked back to Rachel who was still climbing the last set of stairs. "I'm going to see if I can find any information about this town."

"Have fun" Rachel waved her off. "Just make sure to yell if you come across any trouble."

"What about the kids?"

"I'm sure they'll find Zoro if they need help." Missy nodded at the answer and wandered further into town.

Rachel waited for Zoro at the top of the stairs. Once he reached the top he looked at her in question. "For what it's worth," she smirked slyly and raised her eyebrows up and down. "I happen to like your muscles." Zoro made a choking sound in his throat and his cheeks grew a little color.

Rachel laughed as she started forward. "Let's go have a look."

"What exactly are we looking for?" Zoro asked.

"A clothing store."

"Why?"

"You have things you need," Rachel teased. "What better place to find them than in an abandoned town. Nothing like free stuff." The two also made their way into town.

After exploring for a little while the stores that Rachel and Zoro found were bare. "Well then," Rachel gave shrug. "I suppose that you can just go and explore on your own."

"What do you plan to do?"

"I'm going to check out the houses," Rachel answered. "I want to see how people lived their day to day. Not to mention that I just really like checking out new places."

"Be careful if you decide to go into any houses with a second floor," Zoro advised. "If the condition of the roofs are anything to go by then there's a chance you could get hurt."

"Worried about me?"

Zoro stared down at Rachel as he tried to figure out his thoughts. He finally came up with an answer that sounded good to him. "I think I should stick with you after all," he said. "It's only been a few days so your arm isn't healed yet."

Rachel stepped away from him then. "In that case, don't worry about me at all. I'm not some weak woman that needs her hand held. I'm not about to let a little cut slow me down or turn me into a handicap for the rest of you."

"That's not what I meant," Zoro tried to placate.

"It doesn't matter what you meant," Rachel started to walk away. "What matters is how you came across. Next time you should be a little more aware about what you want to say and how people will take it before you open your mouth." Rachel then turned a corner and out of Zoro's sight.

"Damnit," Zoro cursed under his breath. He hadn't meant to hurt Rachel's feelings. He then went to follow her. When Zoro turned the corner Rachel was no where in sight. "Where the hell did she go?"

When Rachel had turned a corner she ducked into a store the two of them had already visited. She wasn't in the mood to hear any apologies from Zoro that he didn't really mean at the moment. She just wanted some time to herself for a while. She waited for Zoro to leave the area and get lost before she made her way back to the street. She started her own exploration of the houses.

She really didn't find anything of interest in any building. The town might have been abandoned, but it appeared that the people weren't in a rush to leave. No furniture, clothes or any other household goods had been left. On the third house she bumped into Missy. "I would have thought that Zoro would be with you," Missy commented.

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "We had tried to find him clothes in the shops. Nobody left anything behind at all so we decided to split up and explore more."

"That's not exactly true," Missy dug in her pocket. She pulled out a piece of paper. "I ran into Johnny not that long ago. He lost Yosaku somehow, don't ask me. Anyway, he read this letter for me."

"Speak the same language, but the alphabet is different?"

"It seems that way," Missy nodded. "Anyway, he told me that the letter was left for anyone that might come to this town. It used to be a thriving mining town. That explains the cliffs and such. This town had been here for over fifty years. One day there was an accident in the mine and several men were trapped. In the attempt to rescue them several others became sick and died within a week."

"Sounds like the miners had opened a gas pocket." Rachel looked at the paper that was written in a strange alphabet. "So they had people getting sick for 'no reason' and abandoned the town that had been their home for so long. I wonder if they continued to try and rescue those trapped miners."

"Johnny never said," Missy shrugged. "He had read it verbatum. So I'm assuming that the letter never mentioned if they continued to try or not."

"I hope not," Rachel admitted.

"Why is that?"

"If the rescuers were getting sick and dying from a small amount that was leaking out from between the rocks imagine what a concentrated amount of gas would do. It's likely those that were trapped were dead long before the rescuers even got started on their efforts."

"That's so sad," Missy looked at the paper.

"Why do you think miners used to keep birds with them before modern technology?" Rachel looked at Missy sharply. "Under the ground is a very dangerous place. Even more so on smaller islands like this. With the ocean as far out as the eye can see. How much volcanic activity is going on that we can't see? Volcanic areas are particularly notorious for..."

"I get it," Missy plugged her ears. "I also know all of that already."

"Then why ask to begin with?"

"I just wanted to know why you hoped they wouldn't have continued the rescue," Missy rolled her eyes. "I didn't need an explanation on land surveys." She lowered her hands as she stared long and hard at Rachel. "Not even in a relationship yet and already the two of you had a lovers quarrel."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know you Chel," Missy said. "You talk alot of fact when you're trying to deflect attention from yourself. Anyone else, yeah it would work. But I'm closer to you than your own sister so spill. What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I'm not leaving here until you do."

"Make sure not to let your legs cramp." Rachel turned and started to walk away.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Missy quickly caught up to Rachel. "So now I'm going to bug you until I squeeze the details out of you."

"Do I push you for details when you're having man trouble?"

"No..."

"Then leave me alone."

"As I was saying: 'No', but you do tell me if a guy is worth it or not. You've even gone so far as to conspire with my mom and get me to break up with my last boyfriend."

"You have no idea how hard that was," Rachel moaned. "You have to be the most stubborn iggit on the face of the planet."

"Thank you."

"Not a compliment."

"Be glad I took it as one. What happened with you and Zoro?"

Rachel sighed as she walked into the biggest house in town. "It's stupid," she said. "I know I shouldn't let it bug me, but I can't help it."

"That's not telling me what happened."

"Zoro suggested, after we went into those bare stores, that I shouldn't explore the town without him because of my injury."

"To be fair on his part," Missy started. At the look Rachel shot her she held up her hands. "At least hear me out. To be fair, you could reopen and tear the stitches if you're not careful. You might step on a bad floor board and trip. If you use your left hand to catch yourself it could happen. I'm not sure if you've noticed, this town isn't in the best of shape." Rachel remained silent as she thought. "Then on the other hand," Missy continued. "You're an independant woman with a strong will. You wouldn't have made CO when you turned eighteen if you weren't. He hasn't come to grips with that yet. You should find a way to show him that you don't need to hold his hand every time you get hurt."

Rachel stopped short and looked at Missy. "I refuse to say it," she growled.

"Just this once," Missy practically begged. "You never say, so let me hear it just this once."

"Not a chance in hell."

"You're no fun," Missy pouted. "It won't kill you to tell me I'm right every now and then."

"Knowing you and how you're always looking for an opportunity to lord something over me, yes it will. But I'll be thinking of things to do to prove to him that he can ease up. You can count on him needing at least an icepack."

"A prank?" Missy asked hopefully.

"That's more something for Johnny and Yosaku," Rachel shook her head. "Zoro is too aware of his surroundings, even if he doesn't know where he is." Missy let out a laugh as they continued to explore the house.

They were just about to head back outside when a chest caught Rachel's eye. It had a lock on it. "A strange thing to leave behind if you're not coming back," she muttered.

"Let me handle it," Missy grinned. She pulled out a leather case and opened it.

"A nail grooming kit?" Rachel asked.

"You'd be surprised what you can accomplish with something so mundane." Missy grinned as she started working at the padlock. It took a few minutes, but the lock finally opened. "Done and done." Missy threw the lid back and blinked at the contents. "Why lock up a bunch of clothes?"

"Maybe this was forgotten," Rachel suggested. She started to sift through the garments. "If you're leaving the island with a bunch of other people you would need your belongings stored in the cargo hold. The size of this town indicates a few hundred people had to have been living here at the time of the accident. I certainly wouldn't want some stranger poking through my clothes while we travelled."

"Yet here you are," Missy grinned. "Poking through someone's clothes that they left behind."

"They're not coming back for them." Rachel continued to sift through everything. She then pulled out a pair of black pants and a plain white shirt. "I think we're almost done with Zoro's 'things I need' list." She let her pack slide off her shoulder. She then began to put the clothes in.

"You think he'd really wear used clothes?"

"It's better than what he's wearing now." Rachel deftly swung the pack back onto her right shoulder.

"Point."

"THERE YOU ARE!" The two women were startled when Johnny came running into the house. "WE NEED YOUR HELP!"

"Calm down Johnny," Rachel spoke calmly. "What happened that has you so scared?"

"It's Big Bro," Johnny gasped for air. "I found Yosaku and we were walking around when we heard coughing. It was coming from that cave the miners had the accident." He looked pointedly at Missy. "I didn't want to go in, but I had to risk it. We found Big Bro by a pile of stones that was blocking the way in deeper. It looked like he was trying to move the rocks out of the way. Anyway, we helped him out of the cave, but he collapsed and..." Johnny had to pause as he was wracked with a coughing fit.

"Son-of-a..." Rachel leapt into action. "You and Yosaku start for the boat. Missy and I will go and get Zoro."

"How are we going to move him?" Missy asked.

"We have to try," Rachel said. "Forcing Johnny and Yosaku to do anything else could cause their condition to worsen."

"How is the ship going to help us?" Johnny asked between coughing. "Those miners died after they got sick."

"They didn't have oxygen tanks," Rachel snapped. "Get your asses back to the lifeboat, but don't rush. The harder you breathe the more your symptoms increase."

"You're sure of that?" Missy asked.

"Not really," Rachel shook her head. "It's just common sense. Under the water, calm and even breaths is the difference between life and death. I'm hoping that the same is true here." Rachel and Missy rushed in the direction Johnny indicated he left Yosaku with Zoro as he started for the stairs.

"I hate to point out the obvious," Missy said. "How are we going to get that mass of muscle down the stairs? He barely made it up in the first place. All of weight combined could just be our death."

"Then it's a good thing I always carry a pack," Rachel said. She indicated the pack on her back. "When we reach the cliff we'll use the rope in here and tie it around Zoro. We'll then lower him to the boat. From there Johnny and Yosaku can at least pull him in."

"Is the rope long enough?"

"It's two hundred foot," Rachel said. "It'll have to be."

When they reached the cave they found Yosaku coughing every now and then, near a passed out Zoro. Rachel immediately checked for a pulse and his breathing. "He's alive, but his breath is shallow. I can barely feel it." She then looked up to Yosaku. "You need to get yourself to the lifeboat. Johnny is already on his way there."

"But what about Bro?" Yosaku asked.

"We'll take care of him," Missy answered. "You just get to the boat. We'll meet up as soon as we can." Yosaku left as the two started to put Zoro's arms around each of their shoulders. "You should tell him he needs to lose some muscle mass."

"That would be aweful," Rachel nearly cried. "A man isn't a man without muscle tone."

"I didn't say he shouldn't be toned. I just said he could stand to lose a few pounds of it."

It took the two women nearly a half hour to make it to the cliff with the stairs. Rachel needed Missy to support Zoro as she took off the pack and got the rope out. "Hurry it up," Missy groaned. "This guy is heavier than I first thought." Rachel went as fast as she could to tie Zoro around the chest, under the arms, in a secure hold.

"Lower him to the ground gently," Rachel advised. Missy got down on her knees as she let gravity take Zoro's weight. The last few inches he was dropped, but it was the best that she could manage. As Missy was doing that Rachel took the rope and tied it to a tree. She rushed back to where Missy was just standing.

"Why did you do that?" Missy asked.

"How else do you propose we start? We're going to need to roll him over the edge. It'll take both of us to do that. I'm not very proficient in pushing and holding a rope with just one hand."

"This is going to be a pain." The two rolled Zoro over the edge. He dropped a foot before the rope became taunt. He swayed back and forth as Rachel held her breath. She was watching the knot around his chest, making sure it wasn't coming loose.

The two women went to the tree. "Here's what you need to do," Rachel started. She held out the end of the rope to Missy. "I need you to tie this around my waist. I'll act as an anchor while we lower him."

"Won't it be hard to untie the rope from the tree then?"

Rachel pointed to the knot on the three. "Our end of the rope is basically the lynch pin, so to speak. Give it one good tug and the whole knot comes undone. This way we can both brace ourselves when we need to take on all of Zoro's weight. Once we start, we'll walk slowly to the edge. Hopefully those two made it to the boat and have enough presence of mind to help Zoro once he gets down there."

Missy tied the rope around Rachel. She then grabbed onto it two feet in front of her. "Let's step back so the rope between us and the tree is tight," Rachel advised. The two took careful steps until there wasn't anymore slack. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"One quick tug and we'll be taking on all of Zoro's weight."

"Got it."

"Whenever you're ready."

"How about never?"

"MISSY!"

"Ok, fine." Missy jerked her arms inward. All at once the two were jerk forward from the sudden weight of Zoro. They caught their footing quickly. Missy took a moment to adjust to the new weight. Rachel waited patiently for her to start the process of lowering Zoro. "Here we go," Missy announced. She took a cautious step forward. She glanced behind to see if Rachel was doing alright. Not only did Rachel have the rope tied around her waist she also had it wrapped around her right arm before her hand held it in a firm grip. Her legs were in a stance that suggested she was using them for the required support then her actual arm.

The two walked slowly towards the tree the rope had been tied around. They circled around it and headed back to the cliff. "YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!" They heard Johnny yell only to begin a coughing fit.

"THAT'S GREAT AND ALL!" Rachel yelled back to him. "BUT DO ME A FAVOR AND RELAX! YOU NEED TO SAVE UP YOUR ENERGY TO GET ZORO IN THE BOAT! NOT TO MENTION IT COULD WORSEN YOUR CONDITION! NO MORE YELLING UP AT US! WE'LL BE ABLE TO TELL WHEN ZORO'S WEIGHT IS TAKEN OFF OF THE ROPE!"

"Thanks for yelling in my ear," Missy hissed.

"Sorry."

The two women edged closer to the cliff. It seemed like it was taking forever when actually they had only been lowering Zoro for five minutes. Missy stumbled a bit when she could no longer feel herself supporting Zoro's weight. She turned back to see Rachel's shoulders sag as she let out a breath. "He's down," she sighed.

"Tell me you didn't see that," Missy pleaded.

"Nope, didn't see you tripping over that blade of grass. Didn't see anything at all."

Missy tossed the end of the rope down the cliff after she untied Rachel. The two of them quickly rushed down the stairs as fast as they felt safe. Johnny and Yosaku, having placed Zoro on the floor of the boat, were getting the oars in position. "Put those away," Rachel called. She jumped into the boat and started lowering the engine into the water.

Missy gathered the rope the boys left behind and jumped in as well. She made sure not to step on Zoro as she went to a seat. "I thought you said you didn't want to risk the wood from the ruined deck to strike the blades of the propeller."

"I have to take the risk," Rachel said. "You and I won't be able to row out of here. Me because I shouldn't use my arm. We're not near a doctor that can stop the bleeding if I pull the stitches. If you have to row alone it will take forever."

"Johnny and I can.." Yosaku started to say only to be stopped by a coughing fit.

"That alone says you can't," Missy snapped. "You men just need to worry about resting and healing. Let us worry about getting everyone back to Harbinger." The engine started and the boat lurched backwards, forcing Missy to take a seat.

Rachel watched the rear of the boat as she slowly backed them away from the dock. Once she had enough room to turn the boat around she did so. Still going slowly they made their way past the sinking docks. Once they cleared the edge Rachel pushed further on the throttle. At the Harbinger she barely waited for Missy to jump onto the ladder before moving into position for the crane.

The two women worked as best they could while forcing Johnny and Yosaku not to help. Once inside Harbinger Rachel jumped out of the boat and grabbed an oxygen tank. She hooked Zoro up to it and turned it on. She then showed Johnny and Yosaku how to wear oxygen masks. "Breathe in deeply," she advised. "The clean oxygen should help filter out the toxins in the gas. Stay here and don't do anything stressful, especially don't take off those masks."

Rachel and Missy then made their way to the medical room. "Okay, what do you need me to help with?"

"The diving tanks oxygen is giving them a jump start," Rachel said. "Odorless and colorless gas is tough to diagnose. If this happened to them while on the ship I would say that it's Carbon Monoxide poisoning. For starters, I'm just going to start them on the same treatment for it. That's just to simply have them breathe in pure oxygen. It might take a while, but it will clear it from their system eventually."

"What if it isn't?" Missy asked.

"I'll have to give them a shot," Rachel spoke softly. She shuddered at the idea. While she had no problem with getting a shot, or blood drawn, she couldn't stand the sight of the needle actually piercing the skin. It would be something that she'd have to do though since Missy was far less tolerant of it than she was.

"So you need a cure all," Missy looked at the labeled bottles in the cabinet. "Well, when you use the penicillen make sure I'm not around."

"It's not an infection ding dong," Rachel snapped. "Look to see if we have any prednisone in there. It might not be needed if the oxygen treatment works."

"What does that do?"

"It helps to open up the airways so oxygen can get into the lungs more easily."

Johnny and Yosaku were allowed to take off the oxygen tanks an hour after they were put on them. They had to prove to Rachel that they would no longer start having coughing fits. When Rachel checked Zoro his breathing was still shallow. She administered the prednisone and kept him on oxygen. Six hours and four emptied oxygen tanks later Zoro didn't need to be given oxygen. His breathing had returned to normal and there were no indication that he was in any danger. To be safe, Rachel began guiding the Harbinger to the nearest Marine base to see if their doctors had anything to say.


	10. New Style

**I know that it's been a while since I last updated this story. I apologize, but I've had a lot going on. I've been busy getting ready to go back to school and earn a degree. Once school started it took me awhile to get used to my new schedule as I also had to maintain my full time job. So time for even my schoolwork has been minimal. I'll try to update when I can. Not even sure if my other stories will be updated soon or not. All I can say with certainty is that while I'm not abandoning my stories, I'm not positive how often they'll be updated.**

 **Also, please let me know if you see a character misnamed or given two different names. I had to change a name of a character entering this chapter because I didn't like the name I first used. Please let me know if you find an mistakes as I don't have a Beta reader.**

I make no money off of this work of fiction. One Piece and it's characters are the work of Oda Eiichiro.

 **Harbinger**

Chapter Nine: New Style

Rachel operated The Harbinger through the night. She was headed back the way they had come. The doctor on the previous island might have ripped them off, but he was the only one that they knew of that was close by. The sun had been in the sky for an hour when Yosaku came running into the bridge. "Big Bro is awake," he announced. "He's asking about what happened."

"Of course he is," Rachel said as she shut down the engine. "He was in a cave when he passed out after all." She followed Yosaku as he rushed back towards Zoro's room. When she got there both Johnny and Yosaku were telling Zoro how glad they were that nothing had happened to him.

When Zoro noticed her he asked, "What exactly happened?" He couldn't understand the two when they were trying to talk at the same time.

"You entered the cave that caused the town's abandonment," Rachel answered.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel then began to explain to Zoro the harrowing events in the town that led them to heading back to the doctor.

"After giving you an oxygen treatment you began to breathe more easily. When you didn't wake up after an hour it was decided to bring you to a doctor." Rachel stood next to Zoro's bedside.

"I don't need a doctor," Zoro declined. He swung his legs off of the bed. Before he could stand up Rachel was directly in front of him, trying to push him back down with the arm that wasn't in a sling. "What are you doing?"

"Your lungs were under a lot of stress lately," Rachel explained. "You shouldn't do anything strenuous until we know that they've fully healed."

"I'm just going to train," Zoro argued.

"That's considered strenuous," Rachel snapped. She pushed, but it was like trying to get a brick wall to move. Zoro rolled his eyes at her attempt. Johnny and Yosaku wisely chose to stay out of it. Getting frustrated with her lack of result, Rachel bent one leg forward. Her knee was now between Zoro's legs, but she didn't notice. Using her legs as leverage she pushed. Zoro, not expecting the sudden added effort fell back. Rachel fell with him due to not expecting Zoro to fall back suddenly.

Johnny and Yosaku rushed for the door. "We'll just leave the two of you alone," Johnny shut the door behind him.

"I'm sorry," Rachel rushed to stand. "I didn't intend to fall on top of you." She started to head for the door. She glanced behind at a stunned Zoro. "If I catch you out of the bed I'll drag you back here and tie you down to it if necessary." With her final word of warning Rachel left the room.

Rachel made it to the galley and slumped against the kitchen counter. Missy was at a nearby table drinking her coffee. She noticed Rachel's appearance and set the mug down. "Okay girl," she turned to the younger woman. "Something happened, so spill."

"I might have aggravated Zoro's injury while trying to get him to rest," Rachel sighed. "Nevermind I might have to resort to chaining him to his bed."

"That's the effect," Missy pointed out. "I want the cause, now out with it."

"I was trying to get Zoro to lie back," Rachel started. "But the man wouldn't move an inch. I had to forcefullly push him down."

"And?"

"And I might have fallen on top of him." Missy blinked at Rachel in silence. She then started laughing her head off. "This isn't funny!"

"You're right," Missy gasped between peels of laughter. "It's freaking hilarious!" Once she managed to catch her breath she looked up at Rachel's angry face. "You said you aggravated his injuries?" She waited for Rachel to nod once. "I bet you're only half right. You aggravated something alright, but it wasn't his lungs." Following that statement, Missy broke into another fit of laughter.

Rachel stood at the counter blinking. Her sleep deprived mind was slow to pick up on Missy's meaning. When she finally did realize her face turned four different shades of red. "Get your mind out of the gutter!" Rachel snapped. "How could you even think that? I could have seriously hurt him and your dirty mind ignored the danger."

"I've watched you two," Missy explained. "You both have some serious tension going on right now. But both of you are too damn stubborn to admit it. So I'll give you this warning now instead of later. Do something about it and quick. If you don't that shit is going to hit the fan and you won't know what's happening until it's too late."

"Even if you're right, which you're not, what would you suggest that I even do about the whole thing?"

"I would start by talking to him." Missy stood up and started to put her dishes in the sink. Once she was close enough to Rachel she noticed something. "How long have you been awake?"

"I haven't gone to sleep," Rachel admitted.

"How long does it take to get back to the island?" Missy asked in shock. "It didn't take this long when we were running from the storm."

"I was pushing the engine," Rachel shrugged. "Now I'm only going at quarter the speed."

"I thought you were in a rush to get Zoro some medical attention."

"He's been breathing fine on his own," Rachel said. "If there had been a change in his condition I would have increased the speed." Before Rachel could take a drink of the coffee she poured herself Missy grabbed the mug and kept it away from her. "You must seriously have a death wish."

"No coffee for you," Missy said instead. "You're going straight to bed."

"I'll sleep when I'm dead."

"At this rate it won't be too mch longer." Missy put the coffee down and stared Rachel right in the eye. "I'll take over steering the ship. Just give me the heading. You, on the other hand, need to get yourself to bed."

"Missy-"

"This is not up for discussion," Missy interrupted. "You might be CO on board this ship. But as a member of the crew I have to look after your health in light of missing a ship's doctor. If he were here I'm sure Hasif would enact some form of doctor jurisdiction over you and force you to get the rest you're neglecting." Rachel looked to the side to avoid eye contact. "So that sort of thing exists?"

Rachel's eyes snapped back to Missy. "You mean you don't even know that!? Then how would you even know to suggest it?"

"I watch movies with my parents."

"Those are hardly realistic."

"They do enough research where it really matters," Missy shrugged. "But the point is, there is a clause somewhere saying that Hasif can do that."

"Three things wrong with this," Rachel pointed out. "First of all, you don't have jurisdiction because you're not a doctor. Second, Hasif isn't here. Third, which guideline are you referencing in order to get me to comply?"

"Umm, the one in the Sailor Code of Conduct?"

"Are you asking or telling?"

"Yes." Missy stood in silence for a moment. She suddenly started waving her hands in front of her. "Wait, wait, wait! How did this get turned around back on me? I thought you're not capable of banter when you're this sleepy."

"You'll be surprised what I can wake myself up for," Rachel put a hand on her hip. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a ship to run." She then reached for her coffee again.

"You are not excused," Missy stepped in her way. Her eyes flicked to the steel cupboard and back to Rachel. She had been so focused on Missy she didn't notice someone was coming into the room. "You'll likely get yourself killed, if not all of us, if you don't get some sleep and cure your exhaustion. I'll also resort to drastic measures if you don't."

Rachel was about to reply when a deep voice cut her off. "What are you talking about?" She glanced to see Zoro just walking in, looking confused. "Since when was the bathroom on this side of the ship?"

Rachel's jaw dropped and Missy slapped a palm to her forehead. "Not going to get into it," Missy muttered. She dropped her hand and lifted her head to look at Zoro. "Our illustrious CO has decided to neglect her health in light of looking after you. I recommend that you take responsibility for it."

"What the hell do you want me to do?" Zoro narrowed his eyes.

"Not to mention you should be in bed," Rachel seethed.

"Pot, meet kettle," Missy cut in.

"Shut it," Rachel snapped. "I'm not the one that nearly died of asphyxiation."

"He doesn't look short of breath to me," Missy pointed out. "So I propose a compromise. He'll go back and rest like you want him to."

"Don't speak for me!"

"And you'll go and get some sleep. If neither of you agree to that... I'LL CHAIN YOU BOTH TO YOUR BEDS!" Both Rachel and Zoro stared at Missy with wide eyes. "Don't think that I won't do it."

Zoro looked away from Missy as he looked towards Rachel. "What did you do to piss her off?"

"I'll tell you what she did," Missy answered instead. "This idiot hasn't been to bed, not even once for over a day."

"What are you talking about?" Zoro zeroed in on Rachel. "Why haven't you gone to bed?"

"Because some idiot had to go and walk into a dangerous cave, passed out and needed the rest of us to haul your ass off to find a doctor."

"I didn't ask for a doctor," Zoro pointed out.

"I don't care about either of that," Missy slapped the counter. "Both of you get your asses to bed." While Rachel and Zoro had been going back and forth Missy picked up a knife. Zoro's face turned blue at the look on the usually peaceful Missy's face. Rachel slowly inched her way towards the door. The two made a hasty exit.

"This is your room," Rachel stopped by a door. She pointed to a door across from it. "That's the bathroom used for the quarters on this side. When you're done, just cross the hall and you're back in your room. Don't go getting lost again."

"Then quit making the rooms in this ship move," Zoro complained.

"Yeah, because we so have the technology for it." Rachel rolled her eyes and walked away. She was tempted to head to the bridge and start the ship again. Then she remembered the look on Missy's face just before she left the galley. Thinking better of ignoring the warning, Rachel headed for her own quarters. Rachel couldn't be bothered to change into her night clothes. She just took off her boots and fell into the bed. It didn't take long for the rocking of the waves to lull her into sleep.

Missy finished cleaning up after herself in the galley. Once finished she immediately went to make sure Rachel and Zoro were actually resting. Her first stop was Rachel's room. That was the person that she was the most concerned with. Missy quietly opened the door and peeked inside. Rachel was laying on the bad, fast asleep. Rachel was on top of the bed covers, not even bothering to change. The light was still on for crying out loud.

After turning out the light Missy started to back out the now pitch black room. Missy suddenly stopped short as she pumped into a wall where the door was supposed to be. A grunt had her looking over her shoulder. She turned to see Zoro staring at her while rubbing the back of his head. "What the hell are you doing walking around?" Missy asked.

"I just needed to use the bathroom," Zoro explained. "Rachel showed me the way, but then she moved my bedroom again."

"You can't be serious," Missy sweat dropped. She gave out a weary sigh. "I don't know how anyone is able to put up with you." She started walking down the hall, heading for the stairs that led on deck. "I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually."

Zoro held back the growl that threatened to come from his throat. Missy barely tolerated any of the three of them. Rachel was at least a little more hospitable. He let it go, figuring that it was her way of not getting too close to others that she knew would be leaving. Zoro brought himself out of his thoughts as he looked up and down the now vacant hall. He tried the door of the closest room.

The room was pitch black. Zoro squinted to see shadows of objects along the walls. The only light was what filtered in from the open door. His vision focused on what must have been the bed. He let out a sigh and closed the door. There was no way this was his room. He had a bunk bed against the corner. That was not a bunk bed, plus the room seemed more spacious then what he had been given. Zoro closed the door and started walking down the hall again.

Rachel woke up, feeling refreshed from her forced rest. Deciding a shower and change of clothes was needed she went about getting ready for the rest of the day. A half hour later she emerged from her room. As she turned towards the galley her foot caught on something and made her trip. Using the wall, Rachel caught herself before her face met the floor. She looked back and down at the source of her sudden trip. Zoro was sprawled on the floor in the hall. His sleeping arrangement made it difficult for anyone to get past him without jumping over. She tripped on what she assumed was his foot.

Rachel started kicking at his knee gently to wake him. Sleeping on the floor was not good for a person's health. However, he had been clearly wandering around after she showed him the way to the bathroom and where his own room had been in relation to it. Kicking him awake seemed justifiable in this instance.

When being gentle wasn't working, Rachel pulled back her leg to add a little more strength and hopefully pain to the unsuspecting appendage. She paused when a voice stopped her. "I was just coming to see if you were awake," Missy called. Rachel turned to see her friend coming down the hall. "We're almost to port and I need you to finish guiding the ship." She completely ignored the seemingly comatose man on the floor.

Rachel finished her last kick, which finally earned a groan and a frown from Zoro. With a growl of her own Rachel turned from him and followed after Missy. "We'll have Johnny and Yosaku wake him up." Rachel headed straight for the bridge while Missy went to look for the two career bounty hunters.

True to Missy's word, the port town was in sight. Rachel guided Harbinger to dock in a similar position as before. Once the anchor was lowered she shut everything down and headed off to see how progress with waking the strange swordsman was going. She came upon the scene of Zoro glowering down on Johnny and Yosaku, who were now sporting new bumps on the top of their heads. Missy was standing a little away laughing.

"Did I miss something?" Rachel asked.

"Just these two morons," Zoro sneered.

Missy finally calmed down enough to respond. "Their methods of waking Zoro weren't really working. It had the same effect as you kicking him."

"Who kicked me?" Zoro looked at her.

Missy ignored him as she continued her explanation. "So I loaned the guys a megaphone, showed them how to use it. From there they put the speaker right up to Zoro's ear. I'm assuming you can guess what happened next."

Rachel's eyes widened as she looked at Zoro. "How can you still hear?" He was currently tapping at one of his ears. She assumed it was the one the megaphone was next to.

"Barely," Zoro grumbled. "I have this awful ringing going on."

"Well that's only expected," Missy laughed a little. "Should have warned those two not to get that close though."

Rachel pat Zoro on the shoulder and then gave him a push. "Let's get going tough guy," she said. "You have a date with the doctor. Not to mention you still have thing's you need to get." The two then disappeared towards the hangar.

"Come on you two," Missy motioned. "Let's go get some ice for those bumps."

Rachel had to practically drag Zoro to the doctor. "He's just going to over charge again," Zoro complained. "Besides, I'm perfectly fine. I don't need a doctor telling me that I need to stop training."

"Daily training is important," Rachel agreed. "But so is taking care of your body. Not just strength and skill. Think of it as a finely tuned machine that needs regular maintenance and care to run at it's prime. It can't do that if you don't make sure it's fine after an injury. I don't care if the injury can be seen or not."

She burst into the office, dragging Zoro in by his hand. The nurse from the day before was there, but a younger man in a doctor coat was also there. He hadn't been around during their last visit. "How can I help you two?" the man asked.

"This one here suffered from gas poisoning," Rachel explained. "He nearly died of asphyxiation from it. I treated him with oxygen until we could get him checked." The following events happened in such a whirlwind that it left Rachel blinking. The young doctor swept behind Zoro and pushed him through the doors to the exam room. As they passed her the doctor took Rachel's hand and dragged her in as well.

Before Zoro could mount a protest his shirt was literally cut from his torso. A stethoscope was then put against his chest. "Take a deep breath," the doctor instructed. Zoro did, so that he could start voicing his protest. As his mouth opened a lollipop was shoved inside by the doctor, a knowing smirk on his face. He could tell from the start this would be a difficult patient just from the way he had been dragged in. He moved to the back and listened.

"I don't hear any straining," the doctor finally announced. "It seems that your earlier treatment was just what he needed. Mind if I ask about how he was exposed to dangerous gas?" Rachel then explained the island they had just come from. "I keep telling the marines they should put warning signs up," he growled. "You're not the first case that's come in. Although, you are the first case to actually have everyone survive. I commend you on your fast reaction to it. Do you have medical training at all?"

"Only basic patch up stuff," Rachel admitted. "I'm not trained as a doctor."

"What about the doctor on your ship?"

"Missing for the last few days," Rachel admitted. "Along with a few other crewmates. They were thrown from the ship in a storm."

"Search turned up nothing?"

"Not a thing," Rachel shook her head. "Unless you found a few people that were ship wrecked on this island."

"If there had been they would have been brought here." The doctor turned to look at Zoro. "You can put your shirt back on."

"How can I?!" Zoro snapped. "You cut the thing to shreds!"

The doctor looked down on the floor. "That was your only shirt?" Zoro's silence was all the answer he needed. "I thought you wore it here only because you didn't care what happened to it. What are you, a vagabond?"

"We were on our way to get him more clothing," Rachel spoke up. "He has an extra a set of clothing, but still needs some more. A few things came up first and then this. So now he really has no choice. Unless he wants to give women an excuse to swoon in every town he enters." Zoro started to turn red.

"He certainly has that effect on me," the doctor admitted.

"Excuse me?" Rachel asked.

"Oh don't worry," the doctor brushed off. "I'm a lady of manners. I won't go and try to steal the man of another woman."

"But we..."

"Haven't been together long," Zoro interrupted. He leapt off the exam table and put an arm around Rachel's shoulder. "It's still kind of new and takes some getting used to." Before Rachel could protest on her own he started guiding her to the door. "We can just pay the nurse on the way out right?"

"You can relax," the doctor rolled his eyes. "You don't need to behave so drastically with me. You're obviously too shy for me. No need to pretend you're in a relationship." Rachel moved out from under Zoro's arm. She turned away from him so he wouldn't see the blush.

The doctor began packing tools into a medical bag. "You mentioned that you don't have a doctor on your ship," he began. "This is just perfect. I've been looking to break away from this island. Mind if I join the crew?"

"Umm," Rachel blinked at the sudden offer. "You don't even know us."

"You treated him and saved his life when you could have very easily left him to die," the doctor pointed out. "You're not even blood related. Your behavior and care suggests that you're the captain, one that obviously cares about the crew. I finished my work as an apprentice with the doctor on this island a few months ago. Considering I'm not the lead doctor I'm barely making ends meet. I need my own practice to make a name for myself. Most doctors even start out on marine ships. At least the honorable ones do."

"We're not a marine ship," Rachel pointed out. "We're salvagers just trying to find what we can find."

"Scavangers are better than pirates," the doctor pointed out. "So what do you say? May I join your crew as the doctor?"

"We'll need your name first," Zoro pointed out.

"How silly of me," he gave a girlish giggle. Zoro grimaced while Rachel raised an eyebrow. "My name is Reginald, but I prefer Regina or Regy. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"My name is Rachel," she shook Regy's hand.

"I've never heard a name like that," Regy pointed out.

"My parents wanted to be original," Rachel smirked. "This here is Zoro, he's a temporary passenger on my ship. He's helping me until my arms heal in exchange for passage. Him and his two friends. My second officer is Missy. She'll be in charge when I'm not around."

"Does this mean I can join?" Regy asked in excitement.

"I need to run it past my second," Rachel shrugged. "But I don't see a problem with it. I'll discuss it with her when I get back to the ship. But first, I need to help Zoro get the things he needs." The way she said the last part was slightly teasing.

"Why can't men just admit when they need clothes?" Regy asked with a sigh.

"The women of the world may never know."

"I hear that."

"Quit talking about me like I'm not even here, damnit!" The two 'ladies' laughed at successfully putting him on the spot.

Regy decided to go to 'his' place and back the necessities. Rachel warned him he was acting prematurely since she couldn't guarantee what Missy would say. Although, Zoro fully believed that Missy would be steadfast against the addition. In the mean time, Rachel took Zoro to get the things he needed.

The two walked into a mens store. Upon entering, Rachel waved down the tailor in the store. "My friend needs some clothes already made," she explained. "Just a few plain shirts and pants will do. Some under clothes if you have them."

"Don't talk about those," Zoro blushed. "You don't need to know about that."

"I won't know about that," Rachel pointed out. "This is between the two of you. I clearly can't help you hold clothes to try on." She gestured to her left arm, still in a sling. "Until I get the all clear I only have the use of one arm. Unless you want me to use my teeth." Rachel's eyes narrowed in what could only be described as a saucy look. Zoro's blush reddened while his adam's apple visibly bobbed up and down his throat. He made a hasty retreat deeper into the shop with a laughing tailor trailing after.

Rachel started to brouse some of the already made items that were on easy display. She picked up a deep green cloth, almost black, along with a green haramaki. So she wouldn't lose her grip it looked like she was hugging the clothes to herself. She waited for nearly an hour before Zoro and the tailor returned, Zoro wearing a new t-shirt and pants that weren't torn. "Did you find something you like?" she asked.

"I found something that will work," Zoro said instead. The shirt was plain white with three buttons coming from the front collar he left undone. The pants were black and tight around the waist and pelvis, but loose going down the legs. "It's nothing fancy, but they're new and should last a while." He then noticed something that Rachel had a hold of. "What are those for?"

"Just something to add to your ensemble," Rachel grinned. "Also, I never got an opportunity to tell you, I found some clothes at the village that might fit you as well." She handed them to the tailor who quickly added the total. Zoro took the bag of extra shirts and pants after paying the tailor, still curious about what Rachel added. Before they left the store, Rachel had Zoro hold one end of the haramaki while she walked around him. It wrapped around his waist snuggly. "This is to hold your swords so you don't contantly have to. Then this is to keep the sweat out of your eyes during the tough work outs or fights." Rachel offered up the cloth to Zoro.

"Now that I have new clothes," he started. "I guess I could save the clothes you found in case of emergencies." Zoro set the bag down and put the bandana around his head. He looked at himself in a shop window. The cloth partially hid his eyes from view. It also helped to keep the sun from blinding him if needed. He liked how he looked and turned to get Rachel's opinion. That's when he noticed people were edging away from him like they never had before. He glanced back to the window. He supposed that the look made it appear like he was up to no good, but he never claimed to be a saint. "I like it," he finally announced. He pulled the bandana off and tied it around his left bicep for quick access.

"Then let's head back to the ship," Rachel said. "I want to give Missy some warning before sprining Regy's arrival on her."


	11. Meddling Doctor

I make no money off of this work of fiction. One Piece and it's characters are the work of Oda Eiichiro.

 **Harbinger**

Chapter Ten: Meddling Doctor

It had been two weeks since Regy joined the crew. Missy didn't have any problems with her joining. In fact, she was thrilled with the new development. This meant that she wouldn't be required to patch Rachel up should she get hurt any more. Rachel rolled her left arm around as she walked down the hall. Regy finally took the stitches out. A scar now ran from the edge of the shoulder down the length of her bicep before stopping. Regy was a little worried over how unsightly the new scar was, but Rachel didn't mind. "That's life," she had shrugged. "If I worried over a few scars then I wouldn't have as much experience as I do now."

After a quick stop to her quarters for a change of clothes Rachel went to the Rec Room to begin her normal exercise routine again. A warm up jog for starters. Lifting weights as much as she could manage. Her arm being unused for a few weeks was bound to make it a little weaker until she got it back into shape. Leg stretches and exercise followed by some boxing on the sand bag, if the patch held from Zoro's punch weeks earlier.

An hour and a half later found Rachel in front of the sand bag. A fine sheen of sweat coated her skin as she hammered her fists into the bag. It was softer than it used to be, a result from the loss of sand no doubt. "What do you think that you're doing?" Zoro asked.

Rachel caught the swinging bag and turned to look. "I'm getting back into my normal routine," she explained. "Isn't it obvious?"

"The doc give permission?"

"Despite me being a big girl and able to make my own decisions, I did get permission to restart my normal routine as long as I take it easy. I didn't spend nearly as long working on my arms as I usually do."

"I seem to recall someone telling me I needed to rest not that long ago."

"Only because you didn't listen at all. I was taking it easy, there's a difference."

Zoro looked at the sand bag and decided to change the subject. "So how about that sparring match we never had?"

"What about it?"

Zoro placed his swords against the wall and approached Rachel. "Now is as good a time as any." He charged at her without further warning. Rachel blocked the punch that came her way, right arm taking the brunt. She counter attacked with a kick towards Zoro's knee. He moved so that her kick hit his thigh and not a vulnerable joint. Zoro pressed the attack, favoring a wrestling fighting style without his swords. Rachel, in the mean time, favored fast attacks with kicks and punches. She knew Zoro could over power her, the weights she witnessed him using was proof enough of that. If she could get a hit in unprotected areas and stay one step ahead of him she would be fine.

It was only a matter of time before Zoro had Rachel's arms pinned to her sides. Although she was turned side ways. "So now what will you do?" he teased.

Rachel had a smirk of her own. Her right leg hooked behind Zoro left ankle. She forcefully turned her body, putting more effort in moving her leg. Zoro fell onto his back with a shout of surprise. Rachel quickly pressed her knees on his chest with a hand up to his throat in a way that would suggest a weapon. "Heh, pinned ya." Rachel had a self praising smile on her face.

Zoro grabbed Rachel's waist and threw her off of him. She stumbled back a little, but managed to stay on her feet. "Let's see you do that again." Zoro took the sparring a little more seriously this time. He used his own fists a few times, aiming for shoulders or somewhere else that wasn't vital. He still didn't want to seriously hurt her.

Rachel dropped to the floor suddenly, surprising Zoro. He found himself facing the ceiling once again as her leg swept his feet out from him. This time Rachel used her legs to hold down Zoro's and her hands were on his elbows. "Pinned ya agyan," Rachel purposefully made the y sound in the last word. She was teasing him without mercy.

Zoro didn't pay much attention to his surroundings. He moved to get up with Rachel still on top of him in an effort to throw her off. But things didn't work out quite as he had hoped. With Rachel pinning his arms she had to lean forward. When Zoro lifted himself up they almost head butted. Rachel moved her head back to avoid a headache. However, the new angle was just as dangerous, if not more so, than the last. Somehow their lips ended up crashing together. Zoro leaned back in surprise. Rachel's own eyes were wide as she stared at him unblinking. Making a decision Zoro leaned forward again.

As their lips were about to touch again Rachel started to move off of Zoro. With one of his arms now free, Zoro trapped Rachel against him and pulled her forward. The two were now locked in a make out session in the middle of the Rec Room Gym.

Missy was idly checking the security camera footage on the bridge. She wanted to make sure that everything was still in prime working condition. No one knew exactly when they could go home, but it was best to maintain the ship at all times. One of the cameras picked up something interesting. Missy was watching Zoro and Rachel spar. She hit 'record' and thought about making popcorn. When Zoro was pinned a second time she turned off the monitor. "I don't want to see what comes after this," she mumbled. "She can't say that I never warned her."

"Warned who about what?" Regy was coming onto the bridge. He had been busy reading the medical books in the ships clinic. Unsurprisingly there was knowledge he had never been exposed to.

"Just that things are coming to a romantic head," Missy shrugged.

Regy let out a squeel of delight and started jumping up and down. "My favorite couple is finally hooking up," he cheered. "I just knew the moment I saw them come into the clinic they were perfect together."

"You know this isn't a good thing," Missy pointed out. "We're from another world, remember? If either of us get's too attached to someone it's going to hurt if we get pulled back to our world."

"That's a mighty big if," Regy pointed out. "You're not even actively trying to find a way home now."

"There's a lot we don't know," Missy shrugged. "We were surrounded by lightning, above and below. We don't have enough knowledge of the world to find out if a similar location exists. If there was we would probably be heading there if not already there by now. As it is, all we can do is wait. I hate waiting, by the way."

"This coming from the worst procrastinator I've seen," Regy rolled his eyes.

"We will all unite," Missy pointed out. "Tomorrow." This caused Regy to laugh a little. "But seriously, I can only see problems evolving out of this."

"I can't wait to see them get married," Regy stared into the distance. "Him looking gallant..."

"This is Zoro we're talking about."

"And she'll look like a princess in her white dress..."

"Now I know that you're high," Missy rolled her eyes. "Not only is that utterly impossible to imagine, but I'm pretty sure Rachel would kick your ass on principle for saying that she would willingly look like a princess. It's an insult to her Tomboyish Pride."

Rachel and Zoro snapped away from each other. "What. The. Hell. Was. That?" Zoro asked.

"You're asking me this?!" Rachel glared down at him. "You're the one that kissed me, ya know?!" Rachel moved off of Zoro and stood. Zoro followed her up. Rachel moved to where she left her towel and water. After she collected her stuff she turned to head out. She stopped short when her vision was filled with Zoro's chest. She looked up to see Zoro staring down at her. "What do you want?" Zoro let out a slight growl and walked away. Rachel was left standing there, blinking.

Missy tapped her fingers on the radar in boredom. Without having a good fight to watch, like earlier, she was left with nothing to do on the bridge. The door opening drew her attention. Rachel walked in still in her exercise clothing. Missy stared at her, wondering what was going on. She had thought she wouldn't see either her or Zoro for a long time now. Rachel strolled into the bridge without a word and sat across from Missy.

Silence stretched on for several long minutes. "So how do I go about this?" Rachel finally asked.

"Go about what?" Missy asked. "I had been expecting you to be in the middle of the Hokey Pokey."

"That's just crude," Rachel sniffed. "I'm just saying that I've had a bit of a close call and I was wondering about how to go about that talk you mentioned...Wait a second, you said you didn't think you would see either of us? HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW THAT SOMETHING HAPPENED AT ALL!?"

Missy glanced at the camera monitor meaningfully. Rachel slapped a hand to her forehead once she realized that Missy had seen what happened. She slumped down in defeat. "So what do you suggest that I do?"

"Since you asked..." Missy paused for dramatic effect. "You need to get him in the sack and get it out of your system."

"Excuse me!? Where did this come from!?"

"Let's look at the facts," Missy started. "First, it's Zoro. Second, it's Zoro. Third...it's Zoro."

"That man is all kinds of yummy," Rachel sighed.

"Exactly, which leads to my last point." Missy was nodding in agreement. "He's exactly your type. So now your looking for a little action. It doesn't seem like he's entirely disagreeable to getting together with you."

"Well, now that we've established that. There is something else that's a problem. I don't think that anything should happen anyway. We're not even from this world. I have no way of knowing if this will work, or if it even should."

"As much as I hate agreeing with the new guy," Missy rolled her eyes. "I do need to point out the situation. We're not sure _**if**_ we'll ever be able to get home again. Also, ships that have disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle have either not returned or returned several decades later. If it's going to take decades for us to get home, if we can get home at all, why not make the most of our time spent here?"

"Okay, fine. That's something to think about. But there is one more thing," Rachel pointed out. "How do I go about this? He doesn't exactly seem open to relationships." Neither woman noticed someone around the corner of the door, listening to their conversation.

"You have two choices," Missy explained. "You can have a relationship by making him think that it's his idea, although that might take a little time." Rachel listened intently, understanding that she had a point about the time frame. "If you want things to be a little faster, you could spike his food or something." This person that had been listening in slithered away from door.

"That's a little underhanded and dirty," Rachel pointed out. "I'm not about to do something so dark and immoral. I won't take Zoro's free will away like that. He would end up hating me in the end."

"Yeah, there is that. So I suppose the only thing you can do is chip away at that emotional wall of his until he's open to have a relationship with you."

Rachel stood up and brushed her shorts off of imaginary dust. "Well I suppose that settles that," she said. "There's only one way for me to do this. I can try to help him get over his emotional constipation."

"Let me know how well that works out for you."

"Yeah, I don't think so." Rachel looked at the monitor again. "I have a feeling you'll know how things are going, whether I want you to or not." She started to head down into the ship. "I'll go check on who's turn it is to cook. Didn't you cook yesterday? It should be my turn then."

"Did you forget? We've added Regy into the list of chores. You might want to check if it's his turn to cook or not." Rachel nodded as she walked out. Missy turned back to the camera monitor and turned it back on. She found that Regy was already in the kitchen, working on making the meal. He had a bunch of herbs on the counter that she couldn't identify. On the other hand, she wasn't really a cook so not knowing the herbs wasn't a surprise. Another camera showed Johnny and Yosaku in the hangar trying to use various tools to open the chest that Zoro had brought back. "I can't believe that they still haven't opened that thing." Another glance showed Zoro wandering through the halls.

Regy called everyone to the galley once the food was done. As usual all the others made it there before Zoro. Rachel offered to find him, but Regy refused. He insisted that if he could at least try to make it there on his own, if not on time. Regy rushed around making sure that everyone sat in the 'proper' seating arrangements. "Since we do we have assigned seats?" Missy asked.

"If I'm the one cooking then things will be done my way," Regy said. "Call it part of my meticulous habits as a doctor." Half way through the meal Zoro finally showed up. He sat at the only available seat left, which happened to be next to Rachel. Missy stared at Regy, knowing full well he was playing matchmaker. When their eyes met Missy made a show of rolling her eyes at him and then glaring. Her silent way of telling him to back off. He went back to eating as if he didn't notice the message. He was obviously ignoring her.

The others finished their meal before Zoro did. Regy insisted that Zoro could clean up since he was the last one to arrive. "It's a new rule I'm thinking we could do," Regy smiled. "The last one to arrive has to do the clean up."

"That means Zoro will be dish boy for an indefinite amount of time," Missy blinked owlishly. A devilish smile spread across her face and she gave a 'thumbs up'. "I like it."

"YOU WOULD!" Zoro snapped.

Missy ushered Rachel out the door with a back handed wave. "We'll leave it to you then." Johnny and Yosaku tried to stay and help, but they were chased out by Regy. The doctor didn't even stay much longer. He just made sure that Zoro knew where the dishes went after he dried them.

Regy went around the ship. Two weeks on board had given him a pretty good idea of the layout. He turned off all the lights in the halls except for a few that followed a certain path. He made sure that Johnny and Yosaku went back to the hangar to work on their project. He locked them in without their notice. Missy had gone off to her own room to read. She would be there for hours, all night if someone didn't disturb her. Regy then went to the bridge to keep a lookout and to watch the camera monitors.

Rachel had gone to her quarters after she left the galley. She was later than normal for her after workout shower. Between the freshly worked muscles and the mental stress she's been under she stayed under the hot water longer than usual. She daydreamed about the time she finally managed to convince Zoro of trying a relationship with her. Shaking herself out of her thoughts she finally started washing her hair. "I need to get my head set straight," Rachel muttered to herself. "All that thinking is making me debate on turning the water to cold."

Zoro put the last dish away and headed out of the galley. "Now where's the way to the deck?" he asked himself. He turned left right out of the galley. When he came to the intersecting hall the lights were all off. "Maybe not this way," he muttered. He turned around and headed in the other direction. At the intersection one hallway was lit while the others were dark. He followed the lighted way.

At the forth hall he started down the lights stopped halfway. Zoro scratched his chin, not sure what to do. It was obvious that he hadn't made it to the stairs. He walked into the door that was under the last light. He froze, he recognized he had been to this room before. He was about to back out when the door on the other side opened. Rachel walked out of what was obviously the washroom. She had a fresh change of clothes on and a towel wrapped around her hair. The thought she had been in the shower made Zoro's mouth go dry. His vision seemed to blur so that the only thing he could concentrate on was Rachel.

Rachel's cheeks flared up at seeing Zoro stand at the entrance. She wondered at why her body was behaving this way. Taking a deep breath, Rachel brought forth the same self control that was required of any sailor on board a ship with a mixed crew. She wouldn't start off trying to get closer to Zoro by appearing like she was after only one thing.

"Since you're here you might as well come in," Rachel offered. "I wanted to talk to you about something anyway." She didn't really care that Zoro closed the door. In fact, she preferred it. She didn't want someone eavesdropping on the conversation. Rachel offered Zoro to sit on her single sofa so he could be comfortable. As he sat Rachel pulled her desk chair over and sat down in front of him.

"This seems ominous," Zoro tried to tease. He was feeling really hot at the moment and he didn't understand why.

"Yeah," Rachel laughed a little nervously. "I suppose it does feel like that a little. But I don't want you to get the wrong idea. No one has done anything wrong. I'm not about to make people walk the plank for no reason."

"Didn't know there was a plank on this ship."

"There isn't one," Rachel smiled. "But an exception can be made for the people that really piss me off. Just so you know, Missy is probably at the top of the list."

"So what did you want to talk about?" Zoro got back on topic. "I doubt it was to complain about your cousin."

"I've been thinking about what happened between us earlier," Rachel said. She watched Zoro for his reaction. His face was as unmoving as stone. She couldn't read what he was thinking at all. "I guess I would like to ask, why did you do it?"

"I'm... Does it even matter?"

"Of course it matters," Rachel charged. "We're living within a convined space. It's better to bring out complicated matters so they don't come to a head and effect everyone on board. If you had been an official member of my home navy I would have put in a request to have you transferred by now."

"Just because of a kiss?" Zoro asked.

"There are rules on board navy vessels," Rachel explained. "A big one is no fraternization among the crew. The one person that has to uphold that above everyone else is the CO, me. I can't be accused of showing favortism to one member of the crew above anyone else."

"So you're telling me I have to leave?"

"NO," Rachel suddenly yelled. Her shoulders then slumped as she thought. "Why the hell is this so hard?" Zoro stayed silent as she gathered her thoughts. "I said that if we had been back home and you were a member of the navy. If you weren't a member of my crew we could still..."

"Still what?"

"Back to the original question I guess," Rachel dropped that train of thought. "Zoro, what do you expect from me?"

"I don't know," Zoro admitted. "I acted on instinct. I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing or why."

"Okay, I guess I can accept that." Rachel scooted her chair closer to Zoro. "I just want to let you know. I..."

"You?"

"Give me a minute, this is kind of new to me."

"So you had me come in to wait?"

"That's not... Damnit!" Without saying another word Rachel rushed forward and initiallized the kiss this time. She pulled away slowly. "I don't think it would be bad if it happened again." She started to head back to her chair. She was stopped by Zoro's arms pulling her in and making her sit fully in his lap.

Regy turned off the monitor once Zoro walked into the CO quarters. Now that things were working out he no longer had to keep an eye on what was going on. He just had to talk to Missy to let her know that the situation had been handled.

"YOU DID WHAT!?" The book that Missy had been reading fell to the floor. "Please tell me that you're joking."

"I don't see what the big deal is," Regy shrugged. "I just helped speed things along."

"That's not the issue here," Missy growled. "You gave Zoro and Rachel an aphrodisiac in their meal? What were you thinking? That's all kinds of wrong just to even think about. Now we have to deal with a whole bunch of emotional trama. Not to mention, how the hell are the rest of us not effected by it?"

"It wasn't actually in the food," Regy argued. "I had glasses of water already set out, remember? Not to mention that you two said it yourselves. If Rachel wanted to get with Zoro she would have to break down his emotional barriers, which would take time, or to give him a little herbal push in the right direction."

"How the hell did you even know what we talked about?" Silence stretched for a moment. "I should have known you were being snoopy." Missy let out a sigh as she put a hand to her forehead. "You should have known that I wasn't serious about the aphrodisiac thing. Even Rachel knew that I was kidding. This is so, totally bad."

"I don't think it's as bad as you think."

"How can it not be!?"

"I didn't use that much," Regy shrugged. "If the two really wanted to they can ignore the effects of it. It's like, when I see Zoro lifting weights and being all sweaty. He just looks so delicious that I want to bite him. But I don't because I restrain myself."

"Knowing that he would slice your lips off has nothing to do with that either I suppose?"

"Well, there is that too." Regy looked to the side and then back to Missy. "But it really isn't that big of a deal. Neither of them were given a big enough dose that would send them into an uncontrollable beasts of hormones. They're still in control, for the most part. It's just going to be a hell of a lot easier to get into the mood, if you know what I mean."

"You really don't see anything wrong with this at all, do you?" Missy stood up and started pacing. "If word gets out that you did this, Zoro might think that you did it under orders from Rachel. Then that association would make him believe that she had intended to trap him in a relationship using such underhanded methods."

"The only people that know are you and I," Regy pointed out. "You know only because I told you. I cleaned up all the evidence I had been doing anything at all before calling everyone into the galley. You were up here, with the cameras. I'm sure you noticed me working on something. That's the only reason I told you."

"That's what all those herbs were for?" Missy's eyes widened with the epiphany. "I have no idea why I didn't see it before."

"Do you have training on what fresh herbs and mixing them do and what effects it can cause in the digestive system?"

"Uh, no."

"It's like I said," Regy turned to leave. "Both are fully aware of their actions. They'll just be a little touchy for the next hour or so if nothing comes from this. If something does happen then, yay me!"

"What about the Tweedle Brothers?"

"The what now?"

"Nevermind," Missy sighed. "Weren't you worried Johnny or Yosaku would get in the way?"

"I was," Regy nodded his head. "Until I locked the door to the room they were in. I could probably go and let them out now."

"So what happens now?" Zoro asked.

"I guess that all depends," Rachel answered. Her head was pressed under his chin as the two relaxed in her quarters. "I don't see this ship leaving this world any time soon. You did say that you're trying to fulfill your dream of being the greatest swordsman. I'm not going to hold you back from doing what you want. That being said, you could use this ship to travel and search for strong opponents. You don't have to leave this ship if you don't want to."

"It's something to think about I suppose," Zoro said. "As of right now, I don't see a rush in having to decide that."


	12. This Changes Things

**So it's been a long time since I regularly updated this story. I've been really busy with going back to school and maintaining a full time job while also keeping my grades up. It's pretty tiring to do this as an adult. I regret not finishing a degree when I was younger. I was also extremely busy during the holidays. Not a single day off without ten other things planned to do. So now that I'm free for a few days I thought I would work on the story a bit. Warning now: prepare for a chapter blitz. Probably five chapters, they're not short either so enjoy.**

I make no money off of this work of fiction. One Piece and it's characters are the work of Oda Eiichiro.

 **Harbinger**

Chapter Eleven: This Changes Things

Rachel didn't have to wait too much longer for Regy to give her the clear for non-restricted use of her arm once it was out of the sling. The wound was fully healed and there was no longer a risk of reopening it or infection. So now Rachel didn't have to worry about taking it easy when she hit the gym. Nor did she have to worry about it during her and Zoro's private moments. The two of them had been spending more and more time together after the first time. It's gone so far that Zoro now sleeps in the CO quarters as well. Although he had trouble finding that room, go figure.

Everyone on the ship knew about her and Zoro at this point. The two of them had a thing going on. Whether it was just a fling or not hadn't been decided yet. Zoro was still thinking as far as that was concerned. Rachel wasn't going to push him into answering either. The two that didn't really know how to react were Johnny and Yosaku. Neither wanted to question their 'big brother' on something like this. They just let things go with the flow. Regy continued to try and meddle, but Missy did her best to stop the woman before things got out of hand.

Missy and Rachel were meandering through a town on their most recent stop. When the men saw the size of the island they turned around and left the hangar before the lifeboat was launched. It didn't look like they would find anyone with a bounty or additional medical books. Rachel and Missy went to the one of the shops. "This is quite the small town," Missy commented to the clerk. "I don't suppose a lot happens around here."

"Nothing overly exciting," the clerk agreed. "The biggest problem we have is with the town's resident trouble maker. He dreams of going on adventures as a great marine. Often running around the island playing pretend hero. But there's no marine presence here. With no pirate threats they're not needed to keep the peace."

"So you have a bit of a dreamer on your hands?" Rachel asked with a laugh.

"He's a little younger than you two," the clerk nodded. "At least, I think he's younger. He's not old enough to head out to sea yet."

"I don't think any of that really matters," Missy shrugged. "Not be rude, but we were really just asking if you get a lot of pirates in these parts?"

"Like I said, we haven't had pirates around here in years," the clerk admitted. "It's a pretty peaceful town. Why do you ask?"

"We're salvagers," Rachel answered. "We look for sunken pirate ships and loot for the treasure that they've had in their holds."

"Also a few members on our ship fancy themselves as bounty hunters," Missy added. "If you had a bar where strangers hung out they would most likely want to check it for a mark or two."

"Your ship sounds full of people looking to make it rich the easy way," the clerk chastised.

"Nothing wrong with earning cash that way," Rachel pointed out. "Both are supported by the government as legitimate means. They're both high risk though, so you need to know what you're doing. But you know the saying, 'high risk equals high rewards'."

"Well, whatever works for you." The clerk went back to taking inventory. "Kids these days, never want to stay out of danger." Rachel and Missy shared a look as they listened to the clerk muttering. They weren't sure if they were meant to hear that or not. The two shrugged and started to head back for the beach and the lifeboat.

On the way down the path Rachel had to grab a hold of the fence that lined the way. Her vision started spinning and she felt extremely nauseous. "Is something the matter?" Missy asked.

"Just give me a minute," Rachel said. "It will pass in a second."

"How would you know? Has this happened before?"

"It's been coming and going in the last week." Missy stayed silent as she stared at Rachel. "What?"

"Don't take this the wrong way," Missy started.

"Well now I'm going to," Rachel weakly teased.

"Anyway..." Missy just shook her head at the lame joke attempt. "Not that it's any of my business, but have you and Zoro been practicing safely?"

Rachel stared at Missy as she processed the question. It was more than obvious what she was asking about. "You do realize that those aren't standard navy issue," Rachel joked. "However, except for the first time, I've been careful. The first one was a spur of the moment thing. We weren't really prepared for it."

"You should see Regy when we get back," Missy suggested.

"You can't be serious."

"You want to take that risk?" To be on the safe side, Missy started handling the majority of the heavy work reloading the lifeboat into The Harbinger. Before everything was secure Missy chased Rachel to Regy's office. "I'll be there in a few minutes. That way I'll know if you went to see him or not." Knowing that Missy would most definitely hunt her down if she tried to avoid this Rachel went to see Regy.

"What can I do for you today Captain?" Regy asked with a smile. Rachel had explained she wasn't technically a captain, but Regy countered with her title being from a different world. While she was here she was a captain.

"I need a physical," Rachel announced.

Regy's head tilted to the side in confusion. "But I gave everyone a physical when I first joined so I could have a baseline. I gave you a second one right after your laceration was fully healed. Why would you need another one so soon?"

"It's because Zoro and I... The one time we didn't... And I haven't been feeling right the last week..." Regy didn't need to hear anymore of Rachel's broken explanation. She set right to work on the check up. Getting the samples she would need to run tests.

"Just by a brief exam I can at least say this," Regy turned to face Rachel in all seriousness. "It certainly appears that your suspicions are sound. However, I won't know definitively until I finish checking the blood sample I took." Regy then developed sparkles in her eyes. "This gives me a chance to use the lab in the back. I've been reading how everything works and how to read the results. I'm so excited."

"I'm glad my stress can be fun for you."

"Oh, you're absolutely right," Regy's eyes widened. "Stress won't be good for you if the tests come back positive."

Rachel started heading for the exit. "Just let me know what the results are when you get them."

"Where are you going?" Regy asked.

"We're heading to the next island," Rachel announced. "There are no bounties here for Johnny and Yosaku and no pirate ships for me to dive into."

"One other thing Raerae."

"What did you call me?"

"If the tests are positive you won't be able to go diving for awhile."

Rachel let out a sigh as she walked out. She nearly bumped into Missy in the hall. "Well?" Missy asked.

"For everything Regy can see, you're right." Rachel started for the bridge with Missy on her tail. "She's doing some blood tests to make sure, but I don't think I'm lucky enough for a false alarm. This also means I won't be diving again for a while."

"That really sucks," Missy pouted. "You haven't been on a dive in this world since we first got here. While it was a big haul I don't think that money will last until you can dive again."

"We'll have to think of something else," Rachel said.

"What are you going to tell Zoro?" Missy asked.

"Right now, nothing." Rachel didn't have to look at Missy to know she was glaring at her. "I'm going to wait for the final blood work to finish," Rachel explained. "I'm not going to keep something like this from him. He does have a right to know and decide what he wants to do from here."

"So what if he up and leaves?"

"Not much to do about that," Rachel said. "Also, not really a topic that needs to be brought up unless it actually does come up." When she got into the bridge Rachel noticed that Zoro was on the deck lifting weights he had taken from the gym in the galley.

"Fair enough," Missy relented.

Once the anchor was raised The Harbinger was off to the next island. Zoro put down his weights and came up to the bridge. "Nothing from this island?" he asked.

"They don't get too many visitors," Missy confirmed. "We'll just have to try somewhere else for you three guys to do some bounty hunting."

Zoro sent Missy a sharp look. "You two giving up on salvaging from pirate ships?"

Missy's eyes darted away from Zoro and she shifted her weight from one foot to another. She happened to glance at Rachel to see her glaring at her. "I think I'll see if I clamped the boat securely or not." She then bolted out the door, nearly plowing Zoro over in her haste to get out of Rachel's range.

"What's going on?" Zoro asked.

"It's nothing to worry about yet," Rachel shrugged. "Right now I'm waiting for Regy to finish some tests. Depending on what the tests say will determine whether I can dive and salvage or not. For the moment we're basing our decisions on the premise that I won't be able to dive for a while."

"Why can't you dive?" Zoro kept questioning.

Rachel let out a sigh. "You should come in all the way. Lock the door behind you though, I don't want someone to walk in on our conversation. That seems to happen a lot on this ship." Zoro did as Rachel asked. Once he was in front of her Rachel gestured for him to take a seat as she also started to sit. Zoro was growing more and more concerned with how Rachel was behaving.

"I wasn't planning on saying anything until the tests came back in," Rachel admitted. "I wouldn't have said anything at all if nothing came from it. Thanks to Missy's big mouth, or the fact she likes to get me in trouble, I should say something. Come to think of it, that's probably why she said something in the first place."

"What are you talking about?"

"So we've been together for a month now." Zoro narrowed his eyes at Rachel. He thought that she wasn't going to pressure him into anything he didn't want. "Don't go jumping to conclusions," Rachel snapped at the look on his face. "I said it before and I'll say it again. If you want to stay, stay. If you want to leave I'll see you off with a 'fond farewell'. This new information won't change that. If you want to leave I won't stop you."

"What's going on then?" Zoro asked.

"We've been careful about what we do," Rachel explained. "The only time we weren't really careful was that first time. In hindsight, we really should have taken a minute to actually think about what we were about to do."

"Wait," Zoro cut in. "You're not saying..." He was interrupted by a knock on the door to the bridge. Regy was standing there holding up a piece of paper. Zoro was the closest so he let the doctor in when Rachel gave permission.

"That was rather quick," Rachel pointed out.

"I accelerated the schedule just for you," Regy said with a smile. She handed the paper over to Rachel who took a quick glance at it before setting it down. "Could you give us some privacy Regy?"

"You got it," Regy nodded as she headed out. "I'll hold off saying anything for now. I'll let you tell the others. I'll make sure that no one disturbs you."

Once she was gone Zoro turned to Rachel. His face revealed nothing of his thoughts. He waited for Rachel to continue what she was saying. "So this pretty much gives everything a sense of finality," she sighed. "I didn't want to just bombard you with this."

"None of that matters," Zoro said. "You've been saying that since I walked in. I get it, you don't want me to feel forced."

"The reason I'm not allowed to go diving right now. You and I are going to be parents in a few months." Rachel waited for Zoro to say something, anything at all. But the man was stoically silent. "I won't know what you're thinking unless you tell me."

"How do you feel about it?" Zoro asked.

"It doesn't really change anything for me," Rachel answered. "I'll have the baby and carry on as normal, I'll just have a new title to go along with CO."

"What do you want from me?"

"You know damn well what I've been saying this whole time," Rachel snapped. "I haven't, do not, nor will I ever force you into something that you don't want. You don't want to be a dad? That's fine, I'll drop you three guys off at the next island. You'll never have to see or hear from us again." There was silence for a long while as Rachel waited to hear what Zoro had to say next.

"I can't say I was expecting that," Zoro slowly said. "I wasn't ever planning on having a family, especially before I achieved my goals."

"You can still go for your goals," Rachel encouraged. "In my world it's not uncommon for a woman to raise a child by herself."

"I haven't made my decision yet," Zoro narrowed his eyes. "But you won't be able to dive and find a way to provide for this ship." He drew silent as his thoughts drifted. "Okay, I know what to do. Johnny, Yosaku and I will hunt bounties so that the money from the ship wreck doesn't run out. We'll use this ship as a base."

"You're not even going to ask me if that's fine?" Rachel charged.

"Are you thinking of settling down on an island?" Zoro charged back.

"Well no, Missy and I still want to try and find a way back home."

Zoro startled Rachel by standing up and looming over her. "After what we just learned you're still planning on leaving?"

"Well," Rachel spoke slowly as she thought about how to word it. "For now we need to keep looking. I know that Missy still wants to return." That seemed to appease the man as he backed off. "Not to mention I'm not sure exactly what it is that you want out of this. If you or when you do leave I'll want to return still."

"How much longer to the next island?" Zoro asked.

Rachel looked at the map and calculated how much longer it would take them. "About an hour and a half," she answered.

"I don't know how things are where you come from," Zoro started. "But here the only man that completely abandons his family is one without honor. While it's not expected, I will accept responsibility for it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rachel asked.

Zoro let out a growl. "Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Apparently you do," Rachel growled back. "Like I said, it's not uncommon for a man to up and leave a woman to raise her child alone where I come from."

"Fine then," Zoro pulled Rachel up and kissed her. When he pulled away he put their foreheads together. "I will make this as clear as I can. I'm going to be a father. While it's not ideal, I will not run from it. When we reach the next town you and I will go to the marine base if they have one. I won't allow a child of mine to be without a father."

"Wait, you're not saying..."

"My child won't be without a father." Zoro kissed Rachel again, trying to show how serious he was about it. While it might be rushed between the two of them, he was going to accept the role he had been given.

"You don't have to marry me to be a part of our child's life," Rachel pointed out.

"Trust me when I say that I do," Zoro disagreed. "I know you said in your world it's normal for the parents not to be married. But it's not normal in this one. Usually the only women to have children out of marriage are prostitutes or with pirates. Though I'm sure that those women do something about it." His eyes snapped to Rachel. "You wouldn't..."

"I don't believe in that," Rachel cut him off. "It's my belief that, from the moment of conception, I have a living being inside of me. It's my job to protect, care and love this small person until the day that I die, not the other way around."

"Kids grow up you know," Zoro smirked.

"I don't care how old my baby gets, he or she will always be my baby." Rachel looked Zoro dead in the eye. "I do mean what I said earlier. You don't have to marry me. I don't want you to feel obligated to the point you hate the baby."

"As long as we keep travelling I can still work to obtain my goal," Zoro pointed out. "This ship is pretty sturdy. Seems strong enough to withstand a pirate attack. Normally you wouldn't see children on a ship, but I think this one can handle it."

"Okay, let me rephrase this." Rachel let out a puff of air to get some hair out of her eyes. "I don't want you to marry me if my dignity is what you're worried about. If you don't love me then I don't want to portray that false image. Don't marry me because your honor demands it, do it for yourself. If staying single will make you happy, do that."

"Now you're just going in circles," Zoro grinned. "I always say what I mean. You and I are going to get married by an official of the marines."

"That's kind of fast, don't you think?" Rachel and Zoro blinked in confusion. Rachel wasn't the one that had spoken. The two looked to the control panel to see that the intercom to the kitchen was on.

"Missy, you weren't suppose to let them know we were listening."

"Regy," Rachel spoke lowly. "Did you turn on the intercom when I let you in earlier?"

"Well.."

"She pleads the fifth," Missy stopped her.

"This is not North America," Rachel snapped. "The Bill of Rights and Constitution bare no weight here."

"Technically, yes they do. This is a US sanctioned naval vessel," Missy lectured. "For all intents and purposes, it is considered within the US. Think of Regy as an immigrant working towards gaining citizenship. She's entitled to the same rights that you and I are."

"This is not a democracy," Rachel pressed. "It's a naval vessel that follows the commands of it's superior."

"A superior that needs to follow and uphold the laws established by Congress."

"Damn you Missy."

"Love you too."

Zoro cleared his throat on purpose. "Are you all done now?"

"Sure, but you didn't answer my first question." Missy went silent in expectation.

"I have to say I agree with the big guy," Regy put in. "It would look bad if Rachel went around to the different islands with a baby without having married the father. He has my full support on this. I'm sure he has Johnny and Yosaku's as well."

"Like they would ever disagree with Zoro," Missy scoffed. "Speaking of, where are those two? I haven't seen them all day."

"They're sulking," Regy answered.

"Still?" Zoro asked. "It's been a while since that box was opened." Rachel and Missy started laughing thinking about it. It had been the day right after Zoro and Rachel had gotten together.

 _It was late in the day and everyone was gathering in the galley. Rachel had been the one to cook so Zoro had already been in the room. He used the gym the entire time, but he wanted to be close. The whole idea of a relationship was new to him and he wanted to get used to it as fast as possible. The best way to do that was to spend time together._

 _The people on board the ship started to file in once Rachel gave the call. The last to enter was Johnny and Yosaku. Their shoulders were dropped and they dragged their feet. Yosaku held the box Zoro recovered from the sunken ship in his hand. To Rachel and Missy's surprise they saw that the fish hook was still protruding from it._

 _The two stopped in front of Zoro and fell to their knees. "We're sorry big bro," Yosaku cried._

 _"We couldn't even do this simple task for you," Johnny finished. They both held the box up to Zoro. In unison they spoke, "We failed to do what you asked."_

 _"Technically he never asked you to open it," Missy pointed out. "Not to mention I don't think he even remembered bringing it up." Zoro scratched his chin, a clear sign she was right but didn't want to admit it._

 _"You said a dinglehopper was easy to find," Yosaku accused._

 _"We couldn't find a single tool you described," Johnny agreed._

 _The two went cross-eyed when a fork was shoved in their faces. "Is this was she described?" Rachel asked._

 _"Well, that's a fork," Yosaku said. "It's not a tool."_

 _"Why would we use a fork?" Johnny asked._

 _"Yes or no, is this what Missy described? An object with four prongs and silver?"_

 _"Now that you mention it," Johnny thought back._

 _"That's exactly what she said," Yosaku finished._

 _"I seriously can't believe you fell for it," Missy laughed._

 _"What?" Both men still looked confused._

 _"A dinglehopper is a made up word," Rachel explained. "Missy stole that word from a 'play' in our world. Basically a mermaid is trying to learn about humans. She gathers trash from sunken vessels and asks a bird what they are. This bird told her that a fork was called a dinglehopper and was used to comb your hair. Now do you get it? Missy sent you on a wild goose chase."_

 _Zoro laughed so hard it echoed around the room. Regy_ _had joined him, but his laugh was more on the dainty side. Missy was laughing to herself. Rachel just shook her head at the two men in shock on their knees. Zoro finally stopped laughing to take the box. "I don't even know what the big deal is," he said. "It looks too small to hold anything of value."_

 _"It could be jewels or other precious stones," Johnny objected._

 _"If a pirate was guarding it that much it had to be worth a lot," Yosaku nodded._

 _"Then let's see what's inside." Zoro gripped the box between his two hands and pulled. The lid flew off of the small box as if a lock hadn't been on it. Inside was what used to appear as velvet lining. The hole the fish hook had made went right through the middle of the box. "The hell is this?" Zoro asked in confusion._

 _Rachel and Missy looked around his arm to see inside. Missy started laughing so hard she doubled over. Rachel joined in the laughter this time. She gripped Zoro's arm to help hold her up. "What's so funny?" Regy_ _asked. He tried to get a look at what was in the box._

 _"It's just a rock," Zoro announced._

 _"Not just any rock," Rachel pointed out. "It looks like it was that pirate's pet rock. It seems like he really loved it and wanted to protect it."_

 _"Well it's dead now," Missy laughed. Indeed, it looked like the fish hook split the rock in the middle and created two pieces of rock instead of one._

"Either way," Rachel pulled herself out of the memory. "You guys don't get a say in what the two of us do. Neither do Johnny and Yosaku, for that matter. This isn't up for debate. Besides, Zoro and I are still discussing it."

"I thought I made it clear enough for you," Zoro looked at Rachel. "We're going to be visiting a marine official first chance that we get."

"I say we should put it to a vote," Missy added. "Regy shouldn't be allowed though, I have a feeling it's all her fault anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rachel asked.

Regy started to laugh nervously. "Don't mind her, she's delusional. Too much time spent on a boat."

"Like hell," Missy grumbled. "You're the one that spiked their food or water or whatever without double checking for side effects."

"What did Regy do?" Zoro asked.

"She gave the two of you an aphrodisiac that first time," Missy explained. "Then she made the lights go out except the exact way to the CO quarters. The two of you really didn't get much say in the matter."

"How would you know?" Rachel asked.

"She admitted it to me," Missy said. "At least after the deed had been done."

"So how do you know about any side effects?" Zoro asked.

"What are the side effects?" Rachel also added.

"Well..." Regy started out slowly. "When Rachel came to me this morning I looked up the specifics on the blend I used. Most of the side effects are mild and would pass relatively quickly. But the one side effect would last a week or two. It would make a certain male aspect more potent. Which, instead of dying after three days like normal, the deposit made by a male could live inside the new host for one or two weeks instead. This increases the chances of pregnancy by a great deal."

"You can say it you know," Missy's voice had a teasing tone. "It's called sperm. Basically Zoro's soldiers could have done their job right away, or even two weeks after being left."

"I just love how we're all talking about this out in the open." Rachel's face was bright red at the moment. "I get we're in a confined space and people look for anything they can for entertainment, but does our love life have to be the topic of choice?"

"Yes," both Regy and Missy said. "FYI Zoro, worst proposal ever!"

"I can see the island," Zoro ignored her and stopped any fighting the three would have started. Rachel looked up and the island was indeed on the horizon.

"We'll discuss this later," Rachel turned off the intercom. "So, our situation..."

"Hasn't changed," Zoro looked back to her. "You're carrying my child. We need to see the marines first chance that we get."

"I haven't even said if this is something that I want." Rachel crossed her arms and looked at Zoro with an evil eye. Not intimidated in the slightest, Zoro towered over Rachel. The two of them then began a stare down.

"Would you quit being so stubborn?" Zoro demanded. "I'm doing what's best for both of you. You and our daughter."

"You can't just expect a daughter," Rachel said instead. "You have a fifty/fifty chance of it being a boy instead."

"Our child will be a girl," Zoro smirked. "Don't think I didn't notice you trying to change the subject. The people of this world will not treat you or our daughter kindly if you're not married to the father. Shops, gold exchange and other type of ways to make money will either not work with you or not offer to pay what anything is worth."

"Based on the assumption that they even know I have a child without being married," Rachel pointed out.

"The oceans are closed off from each other," Zoro pointed out. "You'll be doing all of your business here in the East Blue. The more you travel the more word will get around about you. Do you honestly think that you can keep our daughter on the ship and out of the eyes of curious people all the time?"

Rachel let out a sigh through her nose. The more she thought about it, the more she came to realize that the morals of this world full of pirates was more old fashioned then the morals in her and Missy's world. In her parents time things were done the way that Zoro described. She had heard her fair share of stories about it. But there was one thing that didn't add up in her head. If Zoro was so old fashioned then why had he been with her in the first place? "One more question," she said. She then voiced her most recent thoughts.

Zoro gave her a predatory smirk. "I'm a man," he said. "Not a saint." He looked up to see the island much closer than a few minutes ago. "You should probably concentrate on bringing the ship in. Then we'll go into town."

Rachel rolled her eyes, but started to manuever the ship closer to the island. Now that they weren't in a rush she stopped the ship on a side of the island that wasn't occupied by houses. Missy arrived at the hangar the same time Zoro and her did. She took over unloading the lifeboat so that Rachel wouldn't have to. At the same time she taught Zoro how to handle it so that she wouldn't have to keep coming and doing this.

Rachel operated the boat so they could dock at the village. Zoro tied off the boat and climbed onto the dock first. When Rachel moved to get on the dock Zoro helped her out of the boat. When she gave him a look he just shrugged. "You can never be too careful," he said. He then winced when Rachel hit him on the shoulder.

"I'm pregnant, not a faberge egg."

"What is that?"

"A very expensive and fragile piece of art designed to look like an egg exclusively started as gifts for the wife of a certain royal monarch in our world before a revolution desolved the royal leadership. It could break with the slightest mishandling."

Zoro blinked at Rachel for a moment or two. He took her hand and started walking off of the dock. "You might not be that fragile," Zoro started. "But what of our daughter?"

"Our _child_ is protected," Rachel challenged.

"We'll be having a daugher," Zoro argued. "If we have a boy then we'll have a hnadful on our hands if he's anything like me."

"Excuse me?" Rachel drawled. "You can't expect to have a girl just because you're worried that a boy will be out of control. I'm tough enough to handle a ranbunctious boy. I'm tougher than most men already."

"Does that include from your world?" Zoro charged.

"Even more so," Rachel countered. "Only a small percentage of people where I came from join any of the different military divisions. Navy, marines, army or coast guard. In relation to the population of my country, it makes less than ten percent."

Zoro stopped and looked back at Rachel with his eyes wide. "Then how do you protect from invaders?" he asked.

"Admittedly there hasn't been a lot of effort put into attacking our country," Rachel explained. "We have a few terrorist attacks on the people. Cowards that hide among the populace and attack innocents rather than facing those of us that are trained and willing to sacrifice for the people we're sworn to protect. Some of those cowards are even our own citizens."

"How do you protect the people then?" Zoro asked. He started walking again, pulling Rachel along in a random direction.

Rachel was tempted not to correct Zoro, but she figured she should say something so he didn't get angry. "You're heading out of the town Zoro," she said. "The most likely location of the base is the other way." Zoro grumbled under his breath about towns not doing what they're supposed to as he turned around. "As for your question. It's a little more complicated, but I'll put it as simply as I can. We can't protect the people. Not if we don't know there's a problem to begin with. All we can do is react and extract punishment. The damage is already done at that point. A lot of experts would like to tell you the people are safe, there's no need for them to be able to have a means of protection for themselves. They're information is misguided. The law of our country can only react. If people want protection they have to rely on themselves, but a majority don't."

"How did your country become so weak?" Zoro asked.

"False sense of security," Rachel answered. "They like to think that nothing can happen to them because our law will protect them. Our law isn't capable of protecting, only reacting and investigating. For example, Missy could be going out and meeting some guy for a date that she just met. He walks her home. Once there she tries to excuse herself, but he forces his way in. Let's say the worst happens and Missy loses her life. The police investigate, find the criminal and put him in prison for the rest of his life. What about Missy? Finding the man and putting him in prison didn't stop her from getting killed. It didn't help the fact that now her family has to mourn her loss. On the other hand, if Missy had a means to protect herself not only would she be safe, but the man would still go to prison for the attempt or be dead himself.

"That's what a lot of people in my country don't understand. Our officers can't protect everyone, the population is too large. They can't even protect their own families when they're busy trying to keep peace. Responsible citizens are in charge of their own safety. They don't expect other people to protect them."

"Is Missy one that expects protection?" Zoro asked.

"Hell no," Rachel gave a laugh. "Any one attempting to harm her are the ones that actually need the protection. I know for a fact her parents wouldn't allow her to be on her own without the common sense to know she's in charge of her safety. I just used her as an example so you had someone you could easily recognize."

"Why not use yourself as an example then?" Zoro asked.

"Have you ever seen me without my gun in daylight?"

"In daylight, no." Zoro looked over his shoulder with a glint in his eye. "But at night..."

"I said daylight," Rachel lightly smacked his arm. She then dug her heels into the dirt. "Not that this hasn't been an interesting conversation and detailed lesson on protection tactics, but I thought I should bring your attention to something else."

"What would that be?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"If you're still set on going through with this," Rachel pointed a little behind her. "You just passed the base."

"You distracted me," Zoro excused.

"Right," Rachel agreed sarcastically. "That's exactly what I did." Zoro turned them around and stormed into the base.

It took about two hours before the two were out of the base. Zoro's patience had worn out long ago and was the only thing that allowed them to get out of there so quickly. The endless questioning about whether or not they wanted to go through with the marriage was testing his nerves. Then there was the fact that the marines had to constantly question Rachel to make sure she wasn't being forced into the marriage. She caused an uproar when she smiled and said, "Define 'forced'."

The two finally left the base, Zoro with a scowl on his face and Rachel laughing silently at the gall of the marines. She had been the one to receive this world's version of a marriage certificate. The marine that handed it to her also handed her a note to go along with it. It stated that she should return at the first available opportunity and file for the marriage to be dissolved since she was forced. The marines would then protect her in their building until they could escort her to a safe house. When none had been looking she showed it to Zoro as she was laughing. This was the cause for the storm cloud hovering above her newly acquired husband. He crumbled the letter and slammed it on a nearby desk. He left the base dragging a still amused Rachel behind him.

"They wouldn't have given that to you if you hadn't joked about being forced," Zoro pointed out.

"But I was forced," Rachel replied. "It's just that you and Regy had a sound argument that managed to convince me to go along with it."

Zoro scoffed at her words. "As if I could have seriously forced you to do anything that you didn't want to."

"This is true," Rachel nodded. Zoro stopped in his tracks as he looked into a shop window. Rachel glanced inside to see what had garnered his attention. Before she could pinpoint it they were in the store.

Zoro released Rachel's hand as he went to the window. He picked up a box, shutting it before heading to the clerk. He payed the asking price, took Rachel's hand and left. "Where are we going now?" she asked.

"The ship," Zoro answered.

"Then you should know something," Rachel grinned. "You're going the wrong way." Zoro cursed and turned around. This time Rachel didn't allow him to drag her. He looked at her in confusion. "You're so easy," she laughed. "You do know that you have a bad sense of direction, you just won't admit it. The fact you changed direction without arguing proves it. Just so you know, you actually were going the right way." She turned around to head in the first direction Zoro had been walking. She pointed their boat out to him. "I just wanted to test my theory on if you were that clueless or just in denial." Zoro's glare caused her to start laughing at him again. She then looped her arm through his. "Let's go tough guy," she teased. "You can tell me about what you bought on the way."

"Just for that," Zoro had an evil smirk. "You don't get to know what I bought."

"That's not fair." Rachel eyed him up and down. "What will it take to get you to tell me?"

"You have to earn it."

"You evil, evil man."

"Everyone does look scared when I tell them my name."

"I think that has more to do with the condition you bring your bounties back in then to your behavior towards your friends."

"You're my wife," Zoro pointed out. "You're my family now."

While the two of them had been away from the ship Regy and Missy had begun planning and preparing to celebrate the newlyweds. Johnny and Yosaku had been upset at first that Zoro hadn't told them his plans before he and Rachel left. They wanted to witness Zoro making it official. Missy threatened to let Regy play with them if they didn't help set up decorations in the galley.

"We need a cake," Regy pointed out.

"I'm not the best at it, but I can whip something together." Missy started to sift through the cabinets.

"NO," Regy yelled out. "You don't just whip up a wedding cake!"

"Then what do you suggest?" Missy charged. "Not a single bake shop has a wedding cake ready to just sell on a moments notice. You have to be high on something to even just think like that."

"Don't you know anything about cake decorating?" Yosaku asked. He ignored Johnny giving him the 'kill' sign. "You are a girl after all." Johnny slumped as he edged away from his oblivious teammate.

The killing intent erupted off of Missy so fast the others thought that they would suffocate from it. "Exactly what are you suggesting?"

"Well, all girls know how to do that kind of girly stuff."

Regy took the knife out of Missy's hand and stood between her and other dangerous objects in the area. Johnny clamped a hand over Yosaku's mouth and laughed nervously. "Don't mind him," he said weakly. "He's been dropped as a child. We'll just keep decorating the room exactlly like you asked." He shoved Yosaku away from the murderous woman. "You idiot, don't go assuming things like that. Didn't your mom teach you not to assume all women know how to do that sort of thing?"

"I was raised by my dad," Yosaku pointed out. "You know that. What does that have to do with anything?"

"It explains a lot about you," Regy spoke up. "You're completely clueless about how to treat a lady. I've totally lost my interest in you. Can't imagine what Johnny sees in you."

"It's not like that," Johnny yelled. Yosaku continued to be confused on the topic. "Just, go back to what you were doing. You wanted this done before they got back, right?"

Regy nodded as she got Missy's attention. "You can kill him later," he said. "You wanted to have a surprise for Rachel and Zoro when they got back."

"Mostly for Rachel," Missy reluctantly returned to her task. "I'm a little peeved Zoro didn't think to prevent this from happening." There was a moment of silence as Missy thought. "Actually, this is more your fault then theirs. You should never have tried to play match maker to begin with."

"I'm sure they've already forgiven me," Regy brushed the topic aside.

Missy, however, wouldn't let her off the hook so easily. "You shouldn't count on that thought too much," she advized. "Rachel's known for holding a grudge."

"It can't be that bad," Regy stated.

"She's hated my younger brother since they were five for something he did to her," Missy pointed out.

"What did he do?" Johnny asked.

"She can't remember," Missy laughed.

"Then why does she still hate him?" Yosaku was curious.

"Because he never apologized to her," Missy answered.

"That's it?" Johnny asked.

"Don't underestimate the wrath of a woman," Regy lectured. "We can be very vindictive creatures when given proper motive."

"True," Missy agreed.

"But there's a problem with that," Yosaku whined.

"Regy isn't a woman," Johnny finished.

When they returned Zoro and Rachel were more than a little surprised to see that the others had set up a party for them. Missy even allowed some of the alcohol to be drank. Most of it was by Zoro though. He found that he really liked the taste of the beer they served. "No one knows how to make a good beer like Germany," Missy laughed. But her expression soured and turned violent when Yosaku offered Rachel one. She pummeled him on the head to the point he was knocked out.

"I wasn't going to drink it," Rachel rolled her eyes. "I'm not an idiot."

"He's been pushing her buttons for the last few hours," Regy explained. "I think she was just looking for an excuse to hurt him."

Once they were alone in their room Zoro had Rachel wait. He put a blindfold over her eyes. "Keep your hands down until I tell you," he whispered.

Rachel felt his fingers playing with her ear. Her hand twitched and started to move. A sharp pain on her neck had her yelping. "Did you just bite me?"

"I told you to keep your hands down." Rachel let out an impressive growl as Zoro moved to her other ear. Her fingers twitched again, but this time she managed to keep her hands from moving. Her ears felt heavier when he finished what he was doing. Zoro then guided Rachel around the room. He removed the blindfold. "Open your eyes."

Rachel blinked at the sudden intrusion of light. Once she finally managed to gain her focus she concentrated on her ears. There was a pair of earrings. They looked exactly like the three Zoro had in his one ear except they were silver. "What's this for?" she asked.

"It's a symbol of our marriage," Zoro explained.

"Couples usually exchange actual rings."

"I'm not wearing a ring," Zoro refused. "It'd get in the way in a fight. This way you have something that matches something I will never take off."

A fond smile crossed Rachel's features. She understood Zoro's reasoning. "I love how much thought you put into this," a grin spread across her face. "Even if it was an impulse buy."

"Well," Zoro ignored the jab. "Is it acceptable? You won't take them off?"

Rachel turned around and held Zoro close to her. "As long as we're married I won't take them off." Zoro returned the embrace then led her away from the mirror.


	13. Delivery

I make no money off of this work of fiction. One Piece and it's characters are the work of Oda Eiichiro.

 **Harbinger**

Chapter Twelve: Delivery

Several months passed since Zoro and Rachel's impromtu wedding. They were now in the middle of August, according to Missy's calculations. The women had been slightly surprised to hear that the world they were in now had the same yearly system. Even though there were a lot of similarities there were still many more differences. In the months that had passed Zoro, Johnny and Yosaku went Bounty Hunting nearly every day. Some days successful, others there was nothing. Zoro had claimed that it was their way of earninng the ship money since Rachel could not dive until after the baby is born. Being on the sea made it easier to go after pirates then bandits at this point.

Regy had also been going through some changes. She heard both women tell stories of the men and women of their world that had questioned their identities the same way she did. One day she decided he would do what the women called transition. She began to dress as a woman to go along with the more feminine behavior. This included short skirts and heels. She even went so far as to purchase make-up in one of the harbors they sometimes stopped at. Her hair was starting to grow out into luxurious waves across her shoulders. Since she had already been referring to herself as a woman and introducing herself as either Regina or Regy her outward appearance was the only thing she wanted to change. This didn't sit very well with the bounty hunters, but as long as Regy didn't make a pass at them they were relatively quiet about their objections on the matter. Rachel and Missy took the change in stride. It wasn't something new to them, they knew someone that was in that position from back home. They did warn Regy not to get upset if they slipped though. It takes a little time to get used to that sort of change.

The sun was bright and shining one particular morning. The Harbinger was anchored just around the cove of a bustling harbor town. The men had left early that morning to look into bounties they could go after. Missy was drinking coffee while monitoring the bridge and keeping watch. It was sort of added to her responsibilities when Regy put restrictions on Rachel, trying her best to keep the expectant mother from stress.

Missy's eyes shifted to the bridge door as it opened. An eight month pregnant woman waddled into the air conditioned comfort with a big sigh. Rachel flopped down in the most comfortable seat she could. Well, flopped as best as she could. The baby bump got in the way of having as much of a dramatic effect as she hoped. She began to eagerly fan her face with her hand despite the cooler air in the bridge.

"It can't really be that bad," Missy laughed. "It's barely eighty outside and the low seventies in here."

"I'll remember that when you're pregnant with a little heater using your bladder as a trampoline in the middle of summer," Rachel groaned. She shifted in an effort to get more comfortable. "I'd kill for an extra large bowl of mint chocolate ice cream right now." Rachel pointedly ignored the gagging sounds that Missy made.

"It's nearly ten in the morning," Missy pointed out. "I've noticed that you've been getting up later and later the further into the pregnancy you get."

"This kid drains a lot of energy out of me," Rachel glanced away.

"Is that all it is?" Missy had a knowing smirk. Rachel muttered something under her breath that made Missy's smirk turn to a grin. "I didn't quite catch that. What did you say?"

"I said, 'My husband has a preg fetish'. Was that loud enough for you?"

"Fully," Missy nodded. "And might I add, TMI."

"YOU ASKED!"

"Missy! Are you riling up our Momma?" The two women on the bridge looked to Regy walking through the door. "You know how I feel about causing her and the baby stress. One more outburst from Momma and I'll have you helping clean all my instruments after Zoro comes back from a bloody fight."

"Sorry," Missy snapped to full attention. "I'll stop trying to get a reaction. Just don't make me wash anything with blood on it."

"Regy," Rachel let out a sigh. "The baby isn't here yet. You don't have to keep calling me Momma. Especially if you're not even calling Zoro a dad yet."

"But it's just so cute," Regy gushed. Her voice took a more high pitched tone to it as she danced in her spot. "It would be even cuter if you let me use the ultra sound on this ship to see if it's a boy or a girl."

"Don't even think about." Somehow Zoro and the others had returned without the women noticing. Zoro stood in the front, looking as imposing as ever. Johnny and Yosaku looked like they had gotten in a fight with Taz from Looney Toons. "I don't want that weird witch thing looking at my daughter before she's born."

"First of all," Rachel held up a finger. "An ultra sound is scientific, not witchcraft. It's perfectly safe to use."

"It's not natural."

"Secondly, you have just as much of a chance as the baby being a boy as you do of us having a girl. I don't understand why it's so important to you to have a girl."

"With you as her mother she'll naturally be strong," Zoro smirked. "Then with my training she'll become the second best swordsman in the world. Until she defeats me at least. She'll prove that women can be just as good with swordsmanship as men."

"So you have our child's dreams all laid out for them," Rachel laughed. "What if they don't want to learn to use swords, then what? What if they want to be cooks, bakers or tailors? What if our child's dream is to eat the world's largest pizza in ten minutes?"

"Why does most of that revolve around food?" Johnny asked.

Rachel rubbed a circle on her stomach. "I have cravings," she snapped. "It's an occupational hazard of expectant mothers. Learn to deal."

"Along with mood swings," Missy muttered.

"What!?"

"Nothing." Rachel narrowed her eyes at Missy.

"Not to be a sudden change in subject," Regy spoke up. "But, I thought you boys were planning on staying in town for hunting all day."

Zoro's mouth turned down from a smirk into a deep scowl. Johnny and Yosaku started edging away from him. "What happened?" Rachel asked worriedly.

"Well," Johnny started slowly.

"Bro has earned a name for himself," Yosaku spoke quickly.

"I don't follow," Missy put in. "How is that responsible for the Broccoli's bad mood?"

"Big bro never wanted to earn a name for himself," Johnny explained.

"But with all the bounties of pirates we've been collecting, it kind of just happened." Yosaku added into the story.

"We were on our way to the Marine base with a recent pirate bounty," Johnny continued.

"As usual he was bleeding pretty bad from Bro's swords," Yosaku said.

"The marines took the guy then looked Big Bro up and down," Johnny continued.

"Please don't tell me they were checking out my husband," Rachel's face blanched.

"No, no," Yosaku waved his hands in front of himself. "They were just trying to confirm it was Big Bro or not."

"Get to the point boys," Regy suggested.

"Anyway," Johnny cleared his throat. "The marines said something about not expecting the Pirate Hunter to be in town."

"Who's a pirate hunter?" Missy asked in confusion.

"That's the name they gave Big Bro," Yosaku clarified. "They're calling him 'Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro'."

"Has a nice ring to it," Rachel said thoughtfully.

"That's not the point," Zoro spoke calmly. "I never once wanted to build a name for myself beyond that of becoming the best. I don't know why everyone has to label everybody else."

"So why do they call him Pirate Hunter?" Regy asked. "I know he's turned in Bandits too. In bad condition as well, I might add."

"Normally it's pretty evenly spaced out," Yosaku explained. "Big Bro's never had a ship that he could call home before now."

"As a wanderer he would take whatever bounty he could get," Johnny said. "It didn't matter if it was pirate, outlaw or bandit. Money was money to him back then. Now that he's on the sea more than on island the main bounties to hunt are those of pirates."

"He's brought so many in so quickly and in bad condition that they're calling him the Pirate Hunter now. They're also kinda calling him a demon because of the amount of blood he's been spilling from the marks," Yosaku shrugged.

Missy started laughing loudly while Regy shook her head. Rachel let out a sigh and closed her eyes. "I did say you should learn to control that strength of yours a bit more in a fight," she chastised. "You really only have yourself to blame for the whole demon label thing. As for the Pirate Hunter..." Rachel stood up and kissed Zoro chastly on the lips. "I kind of like it."

"No PDA!" Missy pushed Zoro towards the door. "I suggest that you go and wash up, all of you." She now directed a penetrating stare at Johnny and Yosaku as well. "Lunch won't be too long from now and I won't have blood at the table. As for you, Zoro, your wife is staying with me. If I let the two of you go alone together, God only knows when we'll see you. She needs to eat and take care of herself. That baby needs nutrients and I won't have you getting in the way of that. Now out, all of you." Johnny and Yosaku raced out the door while Zoro followed at a more sedate pace after giving Rachel a kiss on the corner of her mouth. He then walked off.

"I have to say it," Regy spoke up. "I didn't really think that Zoro could be so caring. I had his personality pegged at aloof and cold. Actually, scratch that. He's still aloof and cold to everyone on this ship except Rachel." She then turned her attention to the captain that was returning to her seat. "I suppose that even an alpha male in the animal kingdom will bend over backwards to give care and support to the alpha female when needed."

Missy hit Regy upside the head. "We are not comparing ourselves to a pack of wolves," she hissed. She pushed the doctor out the door and waited patiently for Rachel to follow. She would have helped, but she knew that would have just ended up making Rachel upset. The Commander was an independant woman, proof enough on her position and career. It grated heavily when she couldn't follow through with her diving plans or being able to help out with the more difficult tasks on the ship. To imply that she could no longer move without assitance would likely result in an equivalent nuclear bomb explosion.

Two weeks passed in much the same order. Zoro, Johnny and Yosaku going out and making money where they could while the three women stayed behind. Rachel was getting more and more anxious. She was an active person and being cooped up on the ship was more than a little nerve racking. Regy had to come up with island trips that could help her get a change of pace and fresh scenery so she wasn't so on edge and stressed.

One morning the men left early, as usual. Rachel woke up and immediately reached for the radio she now kept at her side. Regy had insisted so that they could be ready. Rachel pressed the button to talk. "Regy, do you have any pain relief that's safe for me to take? My back is killing me this morning."

She was met with silence for a moment. "You haven't done anything to strain your back, right?" Regy asked.

"Of course not," Rachel rolled her eyes. "I've been following my doctor's orders. As absurd as they may be."

"Ignoring the barb for the moment," Regy continued. "Missy and I will be there to help you, just let me go get her."

"Why? It's just a sore back."

"Momma," Regy gave a long suffering sigh. "We've been over this a few times. What are some signs of labor?"

Rachel's eyes widened at the implications. "But my water hasn't broken."

"Not yet," Regy agreed. "But unexplained back pain is just the beginning. We'll get you to the ship clinic where I'll be able to monitor you for any sudden changes."

It took about two minutes before the two entered Rachel and Zoro's room. Without bothering to knock they walked right in. Rachel tried to sit up, but the back pain made it difficult. Missy helped her so she could swing her legs over the bed. Regy had the foresight to have a makeshift wheel chair ready. It was just one of the chairs from her office, but without an actual wheel chair this would work best. Missy held Rachel's feet off from the floor while Regy pushed the chair down the hall.

Once they got Rachel into one of the clinic beds Missy left to go start breakfast. "This could take a long time," Regy admitted. "Considering your water hasn't broken, you could be in bed for a few days."

"Fantabulous," Rachel groaned sarcastically. "If being stuck on this ship wasn't bad enough, now I can't even get out of bed."

"Just relax for now," Regy soothed. "These things take time. Not to mention, a little walk around the room here and there will help."

"You know you're going to freak the men out," Rachel said. "Johnny and Yosaku have been walking on egg shells around me lately. I get the feeling they're a little unsure of what to do. I'm not entirely sure how Zoro will act though. This is kind of uncharted territory."

Regy gave a light laugh in agreement. Though Zoro was known among all of them for maintaining a cool and calm demeanor, his child's arrival wasn't something he'd experienced before. Regy has seen the toughest marines cry in the face of their wives labor. Between the insults the women throw at them and they not being able to take the pain instead left them feeling helpless. So unless this child was a fast one, Zoro would have to figure a way to deal with his emotions. Everything considered, first child, lack of contractions and water still intact, Zoro would be here for the whole drawn out process.

After eating a breakfast approved by Regy, Rachel was allowed to walk around the room a little bit. Provided that she didn't stray far from the bed and she had someone next to her and ready to help just in case. Standing helped to soothe away the back pain that Rachel was still suffering through. Regy wanted to wait for the contractions before giving her something. Missy was next to Rachel when she suddenly jumped away.

"Hey Reg," Missy called out. "Unless there's a leak in the roof, not likely, girl's water just broke."

"Finally," Regy let out a relieved sigh. "That means contractions will start soon."

"This is not exactly a good thing," Rachel snapped. "First of all, I'm all wet now. Second, I don't like pain."

"Let's get you cleaned and into something dry," Regy started. They already had a few night gowns ready to be used. With the two helping Rachel was once again back in the bed after a wash and dry. "Let me know when the contractions start."

"I don't even know what they'll feel li.." Rachel's sentence cut off as her face scrunched up in pain and she let out a low groan.

"Hey Reg," Missy let out a smile. "I think the contractions started."

"Haha, smartass." Regy looked at the clock once Rachel relaxed. "I'm going to check dialation and time the contractions. Once I know about the relative time frame we have to go by I'll be able to administer some pain relief medication. Not too much though, you need to be able to feel what's going on so there's no complications."

"How is that supposed to help her?" Missy demanded.

"It'll at least take a little of the edge off."

"Where is everyone!?" Johnny's shout could be heard.

"I'll get them," Missy walked out the of the clinic. The first place she went to look was the Rec Room. The voice sounded close so they had to be in the ship. Since they didn't use the intercom she ruled out the bridge. Once she walked in she spotted all three of them. Johnny and Yosaku looking around frantically and Zoro standing in the middle of the room.

"We're all here," Missy announced. "At least here in the ship." She had Zoro's undivided attention at that.

"I was hoping lunch would be ready," Yosaku whined. "It's past noon already."

"Well excuse us for having more important matters then your stomach," Missy snapped. "We're about to have a new crewmember, for your information." Missy barely felt the breeze as Zoro rushed past her. "Shit," she muttered. "By the time he finds the clinic his kid will already have their first birthday." She rushed after the swordsman to help him get to Rachel's side.

Johnny and Yosaku looked at each other, wondering what happened. "Did she just say that Rachel's having the baby?" Yosaku asked.

"I think so," Johnny agreed. The two of their faces lit up with bright smiles. They started to rush out of the room as well. When they were in the hall a piercing scream echoed throughout the ship. The two stopped short in their jubilation. "I hear that there's good fishing at this island," Johnny pointed out.

"Lead the way," Yosaku eagerly nodded. They rushed off the ship and back to the island that they had been anchored near.

Missy looked all over the ship and couldn't find a trace of Zoro. She gave up after hearing the second scream from the clinic. "If that doesn't draw him in then we're in trouble," she muttered. "I can't waste my time like this. Regy needs me to help keep Rachel as calm as possible." She then hurried back to the clinic.

Inside Missy stopped short. There was Zoro by Rachel's side. Regy was wiping the sweat from Rachel and adding a cool cloth. "This is where you were?" Missy snapped.

"Where else would I be?" Zoro challenged.

"You have the directional handicap of a voiceless bat," Missy pointed out. "How was I supposed to know you'd be right where you're supposed to be?"

"I have a theory," Regy teased. "As long as he's not immediately needed, Zoro's internal sense of direction isn't worth shit. But, if there's danger or he's really needed then he's spot on with where he needs to go."

"That almost makes sense," Missy blinked in wonder. "It's stupid, but possible."

"Could we save the insults?" Rachel asked. She was starting to wince in pain. "I think another is starting."

"They're coming really fast," Regy commented. "It's not unheard of, but there is a risk of them being too fast." She then checked to see how things were coming along.

Missy took a place on Rachel's other side. "Hang in there girl," she said. Rachel was letting out choked sobs from the pain. "I know it hurts right now..."

She was interrupted by Rachel letting out a pained growl. "You don't know shit." Zoro let out a barking laugh as Missy blinked. "What is so funny?" Rachel pinched Zoro's hand as best as she could. "You try squeezing out a lemon through your pee hole and see how the hell you feel!"

"This is a good thing," Regy nodded. She encouraged Rachel to push through the contraction.

"That she's insulting us?" Missy asked. "It's worse we can't defend ourselves because no one in their right mind will insult a woman in labor."

"It's good she's coherent enough in the pain that she can interact," Regy continued. "It means that, yes, she's in a good deal of pain. But, it's not so much pain that it's blocking all other things out. I was slightly worried we'd have major complications with how fast this is coming along. But if things stay the same then we don't have to worry outside of the norm." Regy then got busy gettting a few things ready. "Missy, I'm going to change your role in this. You're going to have to assist me."

"Hell no," Missy snapped. "I don't do blood."

"This isn't an option Missy," Regy snapped back. "I need someone to take care of the infant while I make sure Rachel is fine. All you need to do is wrap the babe in swaddling and keep it warm. Once I'm sure Momma is fine then I'll handle the rest." Missy grudgingly moved next to Regy. She pointedly stared at the wall.

"I can see the head crowning," Regy announced. "Rachel, when the next contraction comes I need you not to push."

"What kind of sense does that make?" Zoro asked. "If she doesn't push the baby won't come."

"Actually it's the opposite," Regy tried to reason. "The contraction itself does a lot of pushing to get the child out. Rachel adding her own pushing just made things go a little faster. If she pushes now she could cause harm to the baby."

Rachel nodded in understanding. She was quickly losing her energy with all this. It was starting to be too much. She was thankful it was almost over. Not only for the pain to end, but she and Zoro would soon meet their son or daughter. She almost laughed, now they'll find out if they have a son or daughter. Her train of thought was interrupted by another contraction.

"Here we go," Regy announced with a grin. "Get ready with the blankets Missy." Missy, for her part, was already waiting. The blankets had been hung over a steaming tub to warm up for the new arrival. As soon as the contraction Regy warned about started she had them in her arms and open. Although her eyes were closed to avoid seeing blood.

A small, but loud, cry filled the room. When Missy felt the weight in her arms she closed the blankets up. She peaked enough to make sure she wouldn't smother the infant. "Congratulations," Regy was saying. "You have a very healthy baby boy."

Rachel fell back onto her pillows with a sigh. She shifted her tired eyes to look at Zoro when she felt him petting her hair. He was looking at her with a big grin on his face. He didn't get the daughter he wanted, but he now had a son.

As soon as Regy finished with the umbilical cord and patching up the birth cannal tearing she turned her attention to the crying boy. Gently, she took him from Missy and began doing a check over. Clearing out the mouth and nose, wiping the birthing fluid and getting the second set of warmed blankets to wrap around him after cleaning. Once all of that was finished, Regy gently got Rachel's attention. She placed the baby boy in his mother's arms and stepped back. Regy and Missy left the room to give the family some bonding time.

Zoro leaned in to get a closer look at his son. Rachel tilted the baby to help him get a better look at his son's face. "He has your hair," she smiled. Beyond the color of hair, the features of the whimpering infant were not yet distinguishable. The stress of birth made the skin an angry red in color. His cheeks were puffed out with each cry. Zoro grunted out his acknowledgement of shared feature.

"Now we just need a name for him," Rachel sighed. She glanced out of the corner of her eye towards her husband. She thought back to the last few months, back to when they met. It hadn't been a full year since they met. Yet here they were, married with a newborn. She'll be the first to admit that this wasn't what she expected to happen on her first command. She had railed against marrying Zoro at first, mostly because it wasn't normal in her world for a man to take that kind of responsibility anymore. But Zoro had a high sense of honor. His code would allow nothing less than the actions he took when she told him she was carrying their child.

Shortly after they had been married Rachel witnessed the evidence of what Regy had tried to explain to her about this place. She had bumped into a woman on the street. She was heavily pregnant and begging for anything, change or scraps of food. Regy had been with her and kept her from going to the beggar.

 _"There's nothing we can do to help her," she said. "Look at the people of the town." Rachel had done as was asked. "They're purposefully ignoring her existance. If we try to help we'll be chased out of town. Think about this for a moment though, that could have easily been you if Zoro hadn't married you before you started showing."_

 _"None would take Harbinger from me," Rachel argued back._

 _"But none would barter or trade with you," Regy charged back. "The crew would eventually need to find another way to support itself and you would be left without any means of providing for the baby."_

 _"This world is too barbaric," Rachel had growled._

 _"These are the rules set by the government."_

 _"There are actual rules about treating women badly if they have a child!?"_

 _"Out of wedlock," Regy agreed. "The marines would have been justified in taking Harbinger from you if they found out you were the captain."_

 _"I can't believe this world," Rachel had seethed. "It's far too barbaric for me to live remotely close to a village unless the system changes." She had stormed back to the ship then and used Zoro as her punching bag._

Rachel shook her head slightly to clear it of the memories. She glanced down to the now sleeping child in her arms. Her tired smile widened slightly as Zoro couldn't tear his eyes away from the tiny person. It was all thanks to Zoro that she didn't have to worry about their son being treated badly or, heaven forbid, dying from malnurishment. Though it was probably not in his plan to have a family, they had grown close while waiting for the baby. After that incident Rachel had come to respect Zoro's decisions and him as a person. Respect had changed to like, which grew to love. But she wouldn't admit that to him quite yet.

Rachel was then struck with an epiphany. Zoro's actions saved her and their son in a roundabout way. What better way to honor him then by naming his son after him? "Hunter," she spoke up. Zoro glanced at her in confusion. "His name will be Hunter. As a tribute to his pirate hunting father." She nearly laughed at the sour look that crossed Zoro's face.

Zoro paused to think about it. Finally he nodded his head, agreeing that it was a good name. "Roronoa Hunter, welcome aboard the Harbinger." Zoro's grin could only be described as the look of a proud father.

"Do you want to hold your son?" Rachel asked. A frown suddenly crossed Zoro's features. "Don't tell me that you're afraid." Zoro quickly glanced at Rachel then back to Hunter. "Of all the times that we've been together you've shown exemplary control of your strength. While you do have to be gentle, I'm more than positive you're up to the challenge." Zoro held up his hands as he waited for the squirming bundle. "Mind his head," Rachel advised. "His neck muscles aren't developed yet to support it."

Zoro held Hunter just as he'd seen Rachel and Regy do. Hunter's head was pressed up to his chest gently, over his heart. With his eyes still closed, Hunter reached up and put a hand on Zoro chest. Feeling the steady rhythm of Zoro's breathing and hearing his father's strong heartbeat lulled the infant into sleep. Zoro smirked down at his son in pride. He looked up to Rachel. His features instantly snapped to concern when he noticed her eyes closed and head rolled to the side. "Oi," he called out as he stood. His voice, miraculously wasn't loud enough to wake the infant.

Regy rushed into the room hearing the distress in Zoro's voice. She instantly began checking on Rachel's vitals. "It's okay Daddy," she let out a sigh of relief.

"What did you call me?"

"Momma just fell asleep," Regy ignored Zoro's question. "Birth can be an exhausting experience for both mother and child. Of course the father doesn't exactly get as tired, but stress can certainly cause you to feel drained. If you need I can put the baby to sleep in a cradle so you can rest."

Zoro sat back in his seat again. Still holding the sleeping Hunter. "He's fine where he is," Zoro answered. "I'll stay and keep an eye on things."

Regy nodded and began to put away the equipment that had been used during the labor. Everything that was disposable went into the garbage. She then placed things in a metal bin and headed out of the room. "I need to go sterilize these," she explained. "I don't want the chemicals from that near either one of them. If something happens call for me or Missy. I should be close enough to hear you though." With that, Regy walked out of the room with her load, kicking the door closed behind her.

A few minutes later a quiet knock brought Zoro out of his thoughts. Missy poked her head in after slowly opening the door. She noticed the two sleeping in the room and Zoro looking right at her. "Can I come in?" she whispered. Zoro nodded his head. Missy walked in and came around to look down on the baby. "It's a shame," she teased. "It looks like he's going to take after you." Zoro moved his foot a little to put a little pressure on her toes. "Ouch," she faked hoped on one foot. "What kind of sister would I be if I didn't raz on you?"

"Sister?" Zoro asked.

"Of course stupid," Missy rolled her eyes. "You married my cousin, best-friend and sister-I-never-had. Of course that means I'll consider you to be my brother-in-law. Not to mention that you now have a kid together. Don't let it go to your head though. I'm not going to treat you any different than I do my own brothers."

"Could have fooled me," Zoro muttered.

"Just to warn you," Missy grew an evil smirk. "I treat perfect strangers better than I do my brothers." She turned away from looking at Zoro and back to the baby. "Have you guys figured out a name for the little guy?"

"Rachel picked one," Zoro nodded. "But do you want to hear it from me, or wait to hear it from her when she wakes?"

Missy stared at Zoro for a moment as she thought. Sharing the name of your child was a special event in their family. Both parents would be present when showing off the kid to family, immediate or extended. "I suppose I can wait," Missy relented. "If I don't I'll probably be scrubbing the deck for a month."

"It's not that hard," Zoro pointed out.

"I hate cleaning."

"Explains a lot."

"Hey!"

"If you can tease me I can tease back."

"Touché."

"Don't go hitting on my husband Miss."

"That's not... I'm not... Ewww!" Missy couldn't respond properly to the comment made out of the blue. As far as she and Zoro knew Rachel had still been asleep.

Rachel and Zoro ignored Missy's sputtering. Zoro moved to pass Hunter to Rachel once she sat up straight. "We shouldn't move him too much," Rachel whispered. "He looks like he's asleep."

"He'll need to eat soon," Regy waltzed in. She noted the speechless Missy and turned to Rachel. "You have to teach me to do that."

"Sorry doc," Rachel shrugged. "It's a natural talent. Either you have it or you don't."

"Nuts."

"Where are Johnny and Yosaku?" Zoro finaly asked. "I would have thought they'd be here by now."

"As usual Rachel scared them away," Regy announced. "Although for entirely different reasons this time. I haven't seen them since this morning. Busy with the birth and all."

"Someone should find them," Rachel suggested. "I'm not going to tell anyone the baby's name until everyone is here."

"I'll get them," Missy rushed out the door.

"What's with her?" Regy asked.

"She really wants to know the baby's name," Zoro chuckled.

"If you've decided that then we can get some paperwork done," Regy went to her desk on the far side of the room. "I'll need the baby's name to write on his certificate here. As well as get his hand and footprints."

"You'll have to wait until she comes back," Zoro smirked. "I have a feeling she won't take too long anyway."

Not even ten minutes later there were voices complaining about being treated roughly from the hallway. "I swear to God if the two of you wake the baby I'm going to tear out your voice boxes." The complaining instantly stopped and the door, amazingly, opened in a calm manner. Missy strode in with Johnny and Yosaku behind.

Once everyone gathered around the bed Zoro stood up and angled the baby so they could get a good look at him. "Everyone," Rachel started to say. "I'd like you to meet our son, Roronoa Hunter."

As if on cue Hunter woke and started screaming at the top of his lungs. "And now it's feeding time," Regy announced. Without waiting for the suggestion, Missy twirled Johnny and Yosaku around and pushed them back out the door.

"But we just got here," Yosaku whined.

"We want to see the baby," Johnny added.

"I highly doubt Zoro would appreciate you seeing his wife being so exposed as she feeds their son," Regy waved to them. The two looked to see a scowl cross Zoro's face at the implications. The two needed no further incentive to leave the room.

"That was quick," Missy laughed. Regy left the room just before her. Missy started to close the door, but looked back. "Congratulations you two," she smiled. "He's beautiful. You might want to think of having more. It better be a girl next time." She shut the door quickly.

"We're not taking requests!" Rachel called back.


	14. A Bounty Hunter's Fame

I make no money off of this work of fiction. One Piece and it's characters are the work of Oda Eiichiro.

 **Harbinger**

Chapter Thirteen: Bounty Hunter's Fame

It had been two months since Hunter's birth. Zoro had a few bumps in the road as he learned how to be a father. He swore, still, that diapers were created by women just so that they could get even with men for the labor pains. It had quickly become his worst enemy. He still couldn't believe something that stinky could come out of such a small person on a liquid diet. He also had to be taught the proper way to support his head until his muscles grew stronger. Hunter was usually a mildly behaved child. He was quiet when he was content. A giggle would appear every now and then. The only time he really cried was when he was hungry and he let the whole ship know he wasn't happy.

Rachel and Missy had been the most at ease in caring for the infant. Johnny and Yosaku asked them how it came so naturally. Missy had to explain that one of her younger brothers had a head start on a family. She had a niece already. The same applied to Rachel, except it was her older brother that had a daughter. That brought the subject of their families. Missy had admitted to having two younger brothers. Rachel explained that she was the youngest, having a brother and a sister. This started Regy into beginning research on the possibilities of other worlds, it was obviously fact considering the two women and ship they lived in. The question became how a person traveled from one to another.

Rachel was soon allowed to go back on her dives. Zoro would often join her while Regy took care of Hunter. The duration of the dives couldn't last long because Rachel had to be back to feed Hunter every so often. Their diving remained strictly to shallow waters and ships that had easy access. It wasn't large hauls by any means, but it was enough to keep everyone fed and happy. Zoro also maintained his training and testing his skills by bringing in bounties. The majority of their travel consisted of what Zoro felt was the right path. Rachel was adamant about not taking his dream of becoming the best swordsman from him. She refused to allow even a slight chance of resentment towards Hunter. When asked why she focused on their son and not worried how others felt about her the answer was simple. "I'm a big girl, I'll get over it."

Rachel was spending time with Hunter in the galley. She had one of the exercise mats down for him to lay on. It was more comfortable than the metal floor. He had been rolling around from his back and to his stomach for the last two weeks. She waited with baited breath when he would finally start crawling. Zoro came walking in at that moment. "Regy will be here in a minute," he announced.

Rachel blinked up at him in wonder. "Okay..." she said slowly.

Zoro stood so that their noses were almost touching. "Did you forget?" he asked.

"Either that or you never told me," Rachel responded. "I'm going with the second option, I have a good memory and your sense of direction needs work."

"I have an excellent sense of direciton," Zoro argued. Rachel hummed in mock agreement and Zoro knew it. He got a devilish smirk on his face that melted to surprise. He took Rachel by the shoulders and turned her around.

At first Rachel was confused by what he was doing. Then the sight had her gasping and laughing at the same time. While they weren't paying attention Hunter had managed to push himself up to his knees. Now he was taking unsteady shuffles to his parents. Rachel wanted to rush to him and tell him how good he was, but Zoro stopped her. "Let him learn," he said. "If you keep coddling him he won't learn to fend for himself."

"But..." Rachel wanted to argue, but she remained silent. She knew that Zoro was right about letting Hunter figure things out on his own. She was just really excited that Hunter had reached a milestone and she wanted to praise him.

Hunter made it a few more inches before his arms gave out. That was when Zoro took his hand off Rachel's shoulder. She rushed to their son and picked him up. Zoro wasn't too far behind, a grin on his face. "You did a good job," Rachel cooed. Hunter was sniffling a little, but the sound of his mother's voice was calming him. She wasn't panicking because he almost cried, instead she was telling him he was alright and he would get better. Zoro placed his massive hand on Hunter's head gently and ruffled his tuft of green hair.

"That is so adorable." The family looked to see Regy leaning in the doorway. Heart's in her eyes as she burned the image into her memory. She then moved forward to the small family. Hunter easily allowed Regy to take him from his mom. "The two of us are going to have a lot of fun today."

"What is going on?" Rachel asked. "First Zoro comes and tells me you'll be coming and now you're planning on spending the day with Hunter like I won't even be around."

"Zoro didn't tell you?"

"How about you tell me instead?"

"Zoro planned for the two of you to spend the afternoon in town."

"Why?" Rachel looked up to Zoro.

"I thought you could use some time away from diving and the ship," Zoro said. "If you're not taking care of Hunter then you're diving. It will do you good to get out and onto some land for once." He didn't wait for Rachel to reply. He took her hand and led her out to the lifeboat Missy had waiting.

"How many people were in on this?" Rachel asked.

"As many as it took to keep the groupies off your back," Missy smiled and waved. "Think of this as our Birthday present to you."

Zoro stopped in his tracks and looked at Missy. "How did you know my birthday is tomorrow?" he asked.

Both Rachel and Missy stared at him in shock. Missy suddenly burst out into loud laughter. "Now this is rich! I had no idea it's your birthday," she said. "Besides, it wasn't you that I was talking to." Missy then pointed her finger at Rachel. "Your wife's birthday is the day after tomorrow. Seriously, you two have been married nearly a year and you have no idea what each other's birthdays are?"

"Never really thought about it," Zoro shrugged. He then turned to look at Rachel. "Day after tomorrow huh?"

"Tomorrow?" Rachel raised an eyebrow at him in challenge. "Nineteen?" Zoro nodded his head once then gave a pointed look to Rachel. "Same."

"So Rachel is exactly one day younger than Zoro," Missy grinned. "This is so funny."

"How exactly have you two been keeping track of the days?" Zoro asked. He was confused, he thought that being from a different world they wouldn't have the same time measuring tools the World Government used.

"We've been using a duel day system," Rachel admitted. "Our computers are still set to the calendar of our home world. So, while we've been learning your calendar year, we've also been keeping track of how much time has passed back from our homeland."

"In two weeks we'll have been in this world a year," Rachel pointed out.

"So we really did just meet when you arrived," Zoro mused.

"We told you that already," Missy rolled her eyes. "Now quit your yakking. You have a 'date' to get on."

"But what about feeding Hunter?" Rachel argued.

"You've left some pumped milk," Missy dismissed.

"For emergencies!"

"Date night is an emergency," Missy smiled. "Bye now." She shut the access to Harbinger so that they couldn't reload the lifeboat.

Zoro started the engine of the boat. "Why are you not more concerned about this?" Rachel demanded.

"First off, you could use the break." Zoro easily guided the boat away from the ship. It was almost like he hadn't just learned to operate it a few months ago. "Second off, with both of our birthdays coming up we need to celebrate."

"What has gotten into you?" Rachel asked. "Normally you wouldn't care about stuff like this." Zoro muttered something under his breath. "What? I couldn't hear you."

"I said, those two women threatened to hide my swords and training gear." Rachel couldn't contain the laughter.

The walk through town was pleasant. The sun was shining and the street wasn't too crowded. People shied away only a little when they saw Zoro carrying three swords. None of the people were overly worried since it was obvious he wasn't wanted by the marines. Wanted posters littered nearly every building so the townspeople knew who the criminals were.

At the local inn Zoro and Rachel settled in to enjoy a meal out. They were half way through when a loud noise drew their attention. A group of men in unkept clothing barged their way through the entrance. They had a rough appearance to them, unshaven and lacking personal hygiene. Rachel wrinkled her nose, she could smell them from across the open room. Hygiene was one of her pet peeves. The two turned away from them to continue to enjoy some alone time.

After a few minutes the sound of heavy footsteps approached. Zoro looked up with a glare. Rachel glanced over her shoulder to see one of the new customers stop at their table. "Don't I know you?" the man asked Zoro.

"Don't think so," Zoro answered quickly.

"Sure I do," the man continued.

"Look pal," Zoro was getting fed up. "I've never met you a day in my life. I would prefer to finish dinner in peace."

"That's not very nice." The man leaned onto the table. So close to Rachel that the smell was making her gag. "I'm just trying to start a conversation."

"You have a table full of buddies over there," Zoro pointed out. "Go talk to them."

"I'd rather talk to this one." The man started to reach for Rachel.

Zoro's hand snapped to one of his swords. At the same time, Rachel had drawn a gun from her hidden holster and pointed it between the man's eyes. "I'm not interested in any 'conversation' you think of," Rachel hissed. "I suggest going back to your table before I do something you won't have a chance to regret."

"Do you know who I am!?" the man seethed. "I'm a wanted man by the government. I have a bounty of four million Beli."

Rachel moved the safetly off on her gun. "Then you won't mind my husband and I collecting on that, since you so readily announce it in front of a bounty hunter."

The man froze and started to glance between the pair. His eyes then focused on Zoro more as he concentrated. "I knew it," he finally snapped. "I thought you looked familiar. You're that Pirate Hunter that everybody's been talking about!" His announcement caused the group at his table to stand up.

Zoro let out a groan and stood up. The man quickly backed away to join with his comrades, hoping to gain some back up. Rachel put away her gun, no sense in her getting in the way of Zoro getting to work. "This was supposed to be a quiet night out," he growled. "How do you expect us to enjoy it with you annoying us?"

This seemed to offend the group and they charged towards Zoro as one. The fight didn't last long at all. The group was taken down in a matter of seconds. Zoro turned to look at one of the waiters. "You there," Zoro's call shocked the waiter to attention. "Go and get some of the marines to take them." The man didn't wait for further instructions. He rushed out of the building like his life depended on it.

In a few minutes a small squad of marines entered. The one in charge approached Zoro and Rachel. "You're the Pirate Hunter?"

"I don't remember calling myself that," Zoro rolled his eyes. "But, yes, that's what everyone has been calling me by."

"This lot has been causing trouble in the town lately," the marine continued. It was as if what Zoro had to say wasn't important. "We'll be taking charge of them from here." He then handed Zoro a purse of beli. "The reward for their capture." Zoro took it without a word. He left the money for the bill on the table and started to walk out of the building while leading Rachel along. "Is that lady one of these bandits?"

"I'm as much a bandit as you are," Rachel snapped. "Do I look like I haven't bathed in a month? You're a rude jack..."

"She's with me," Zoro stopped Rachel's rant. As much as he wanted to let her give the marine a piece of her mind for the insult he didn't want too much attention drawn to her. He, apparently, had a growing reputation and didn't want to involve her or Hunter anymore than he already had to.

When they got back to the Harbinger Regy insisted that they spend the night alone while she stayed with Hunter. She even had a sleeping area set up for him in her room. Zoro and Rachel enjoyed the night without the worry of a hungry son waking them at odd hours in the morning.

Missy and Regy insisted that the two had a monthly date night from then on. Most of the time they were uneventful. There were times when the odd bandit or pirate tried to test their strength on the growing reputation of the Pirate Hunter. Some had been stupid enough and failed to recognize the threat for what it was as they hit on Rachel in Zoro's presence. Neither of them appreciated that when it happened.

Hunter was eight months old when Zoro realized his reputation was starting to get out of hand. Not only were people calling him a demon, but now even low lifes without bounties were testing their lack of skill on him. The worst moment was on their regular date night. The two were walking through the town of the most recent island they stopped at. They were passing an ally when a voice stopped them.

"Pirate Hunter, We've been looking for you."

Zoro stopped, hand easily going to Wado. "Oh yeah? And who are you?"

"I represent an organization that's interested in your skills as a bounty hunter," the man said. "As such, I can't tell you who I am. Just call me Mister Twenty."

Two people, a man and a woman, stepped out of the shadows. "You can call me Miss Clover," the woman said.

"Why the secrets?" Rachel didn't like where this was going.

"That's the modo of our organization, Baroque Works. Every member's identity is kept a secret, especially the boss'. You'll be give a code name which you must refer to yourself from then on. No one must know or hear of the Pirate Hunter while you work with us."

"An organization where the boss' identity is a secret?" Zoro asked. "This boss tells those that work for him who he is though."

"Secrecy is our modo," Mister Twenty restated. "You won't know the real names of those around you or our boss. Our mission is to stop the Pirates that are coming to the Grandline."

"I don't work with, let alone for, someone that won't tell me who they are." Zoro dismissed the two and started walking away with Rachel. "I'm not interested."

"That just won't do," Miss Clover tsked. She got in front of the two. Her drawing their attention allowed Mister Twenty to come up from behind. He grabbed a hold of Rachel and pressed a knife to her throat.

Zoro went to draw his sword. "I wouldn't do that if I was you," Twenty warned. "If I see even a hint of your blade I'll kill your wife." Zoro looked surprised that they knew the two of them were married. They weren't exactly wearing the traditional married attire. "Don't look so surprised," Twenty nearly laughed. "A little information digging and it's easy to locate where you've been staying and who with. Talk to a marine here and there you can learn some really interesting facts about a person's wedding day and their partner."

"You can make this easy or hard," Clover added. "You can come work for Baroque Works and we'll leave your wife and ship alone. Or you can fight us and we'll just take everything you love away."

"Your boss wants me to join that badly?" Zoro demanded.

"The boss isn't even aware you exist," Twenty admitted. "The two of us are the requeting agents in East Blue. We're given authority to hire anyone that has potential using any means necessary. What happens from there is up to you."

"So if Zoro kills you we'll be left alone? Good to know," Rachel spoke for the first time. Her silence had made the two agents think she was a mouse. She fired her gun, pointing down. The two had been worried about Zoro attacking, they never thought she might also be carryiung a weapon. The bullet went into the man's foot. Twenty shouted out in pain and released Rachel. She ducked out of the way as Zoro swept in to finish the job. The two agents were left in the street by the couple. Zoro had a scowl on his face the entire way back to the ship.

Back on the ship Zoro is quick to disappear into the quarters he shares with Rachel and Hunter. "What's gotten into you?" Rachel chased after him. "I know that wasn't exactly expected but..."

"I can't keep this up," Zoro interrupted.

Rachel's eyes widened and she sat on the edge of the bed. "So you're leaving," she whispered.

Zoro was in front of her in a flash. "That's not what I meant," he disagreed. "I can't keep bringing in bounties while I'm with you."

"But that's how you plan to get better in your swordsmanship," Rachel looked confused. When Zoro remained silent, as if thinking his next response, Rachel's face contorted in rage. She gripped his arm hard enough to make him wince. "You listen to me Roronoa," she hissed out. "I said right from the start that you _**will not**_ resent Hunter. So here's what you're going to do if you're so worried for his safety."

"It's not just his safety," Zoro cut in. He pulled Rachel up into his arms. "I'm also worried about yours. We might have been 'tricked' so to speak into being parents and married, but you're also important to me. I will do anything to protect you and Hunter."

"Then listen to what I have to say," Rachel calmed a little. "It's not unheard of for a mother to raise a child while the father is away."

"You're making me leave?"

"I'm telling you to pursue your dreams," Rachel clarified. She put her hands on either side of Zoro's head and pulled him close. "But there are a few conditions. You will have a den den mushi that you can call us with at least once a week. You will be writing us letters and send them with a carrier bird when you can. You _**will**_ achieve your dream. But the moment you've done so, you stupid man, you come back. Hunter needs his father as he grows. I'm a woman, not really capable of teaching Hunter the important things of being a strong man. I can give him a proper education, teach him right from wrong. I can't teach him to use a sword. I will also have a hard time teaching him to use the toilet. I will get it done, though, to give you the chance to reach your dream."

"You'll stay here?" Zoro asked. "You and Missy have still been looking for a way to return to your world. If you find a way, will you leave me or stay."

"I'm staying with you," Rachel answered. "I'm looking for the way to help Missy. I have a family here and won't take Hunter from you. Missy enjoys being with all of us, but it's a poor substitute for her parents and siblings. I'll make sure when she leaves that she lets my own family know what's happened to me and about Hunter. That's the best I can manage on that end. Ever since Hunter was on the way and we've been married I've been writing to them. Missy will give the letters to my family if we can get her home."

"You'll be alone if Missy leaves."

"You're forgetting about Regy," Rachel pointed out. "She'll most likely stay with us. Plus, I can always hire on more crew if needed. This ship is designed for a crew between twenty and fifty. I can bring on more hands if they're trust worthy."

"You need them to prove their trust?"

"We just had someone try to use me to get to you because of your reputation as the Pirate Hunter. I'm not going to risk Hunter when your reputation will most likely only grow from this point on. No doubt the pirates and bandits you'll take down will continue to get stronger, so you'll be making the headlines quite a bit. I will be keeping an eye on the paper."

"You're fine with me leaving?"

"I never said that," Rachel shook her head. "It's breaking my heart. Hunter loves his dad... I love Hunter's dad." Zoro's eyes widened and his breath hitched. In the year and a half they had been together neither had ever said they loved each other. "We're going to miss you, Hunter won't understand at first why you're gone. He'll cry at all hours of the day, looking for you. But the tears will be worth it. You'll come back, your dream of being the strongest reached and all the better for it."

Zoro dove in and kissed Rachel as he held her close. When they finally pulled away, Zoro stared into her eyes. "I guess I love you too."

"You guess?" Rachel's eyes were watering as she gave a sad smile.

"I do," Zoro relented. "But you're right about all of this. I can't keep moving to my dream while being with you and Hunter. The safest and best thing for Hunter will be for me to carry on my own for a while. We need to go to a large island and town that we might be lucky enough to carry a den den mushi."

"I would give you a radio from the ship," Rachel sighed. "But in order for it to work you have to be within a certain range of The Harbinger."

"We'll worry about all of that tomorrow," Zoro's eyes grew dark. He pushed Rachel backwards until she was forced down on the bed. "Right now, it's just the two of us. I want something to carry with me as I travel. I don't care if it's just a memory for now."

The next morning Rachel was awake early and pushing The Harbinger as fast as it would go safely. Using her compass and the map of East Blue she made her way to Loguetown. It was the best bet they had of finding a den den mushi. If the rumors were true, it was a popular pirate stop just before reaching the Grandline.

"What's the rush?" Missy yawned as she came in. Hunter was on her hip, pulling at the curls she had yet to tame for the morning.

"You're not going to like it," Rachel sighed.

That snapped Missy into full alertness. "What happened?" Rachel told Missy the story of the Baroque Works agents. "What a pain," she sighed. She fought to keep from swearing. Little ears were very impressionable. "So what's going on then? You two made it back alright. Are you going to demand some sort of protection from the marines?"

"As if I would stoop so low as to rely on them," Rachel rolled her eyes. " **My** solution is better than that. It will allow for a quick escape on our part if it comes to it. At the moment, however, anymosity is our best friend."

"Where are we headed?" Missy was thoroughly confused.

"Loguetown," Rachel answered.

"What happened to our plan?"

"The moment we leave Loguetown Harbinger will officially go off of the radar. In time, those that have seen it will eventually think it sank."

"You're starting to worry me. Just come out and tell me what's going on."

"We'll be dropping off Zoro at Loguetown," Rachel said quietly. Her voice was tinged with sadness.

"What the he..." Missy stopped herself short of cussing. She remembered she still had Hunter in her arms. "Rach, are you telling me that you told Zoro to leave you and Hunter?"

"It's for the best," Rachel nodded. "Zoro can't complete his dream if he has to worry about protecting Hunter. For now I can take care of myself, eventually someone will come after Zoro that might be able to get past him. If they manage to overtake him, I don't stand a chance. I've seen the strength some of these people hold. The news always has a report of a pirate crew destroying entire towns. Harbinger is good, but I'm not a helmsman. We come across a ship that's better able to read the waves they could possibly overtake us."

"You've put some thought into this," Missy sighed.

"It kept me up all night," Rachel admitted. "At first, all I told Zoro was that he will come back to us once he's finished becoming the best. I was awake trying to come up with a good explanation to you so you wouldn't be up in arms over this."

"Don't get me wrong," Missy looked to Rachel pointedly. "I'm far from what you call 'okay' with this. In fact, I'm still contemplating on turning your man into a eunech for agreeing to such a ridiculous plan. His place is with his family. I can see where you're coming from, but it doesn't mean that I agree with it. Zoro isn't my husband so I don't really have a say in what happens between the two of you. But I can guarantee that I will be telling your mom what you decided about the whole affair."

"You're so cruel to her," Rachel shook her head.

"What do you mean?"

"It's bad enough that she'll receive news I'm alive, but will never see me again. Then you want to go and tell her that I'm seemingly alone with Hunter and no one to help me raise him? The worry alone will drive her insane within a week."

"Fine, I'll concede that point. I'll wait for her to get used to you never coming home first before I let her know your situation."

"You won't let her know at all," Rachel snapped. "Think about it for a minute. My mom is exactly like Grandma."

Missy stopped trying to wrestle her hair back from the toddler. Rachel had a more than very good point. Their grandma would freak out and nearly have a heart attack by watching them swim in the water. So much to the point that the entire family would have to leave the beach because she was too worried. Rachel's mother was on the fast track of doing exactly that if she were to be told that Rachel was alone.

"But this talk is really pointless," Rachel sighed. "We still have no idea how we're going to get you home. For now, we're just going to deal with one thing at a time." Rachel motioned for Missy to take the helm. She then pointed to the map and compass. "Stay on this heading and we'll come to the island some time this afternoon." Rachel took Hunter from Missy and he was more than willing to be held by his mother. "We're going to spend what time we have remaining together as a family." Missy nodded silently as the situation really started to settle on her mind. Who knew how long it would be before the small family was back together again?

Missy lowered the anchor a mile off shore from the island Loguetown was. The angle of island kept them out of view of the town and any lookouts. Instead of calling to Rachel to let her know they were at the island she went to the hangar and began to get the crane and boat ready to be lowered into the water. She wanted to give the family as much time as possible before they had to be separated.

After an hour of procrastinating Missy heard Rachel come across the intercom. "Missy, where are you?"

Missy went to the intercom in the hangar. "I'm getting the lifeboat ready for the trip to the island," she said.

"Why didn't you let us know we reached Loguetown?"

"I wanted to give you guys a little more time."

The intercom was silent for a few seconds. "Thank you," Rachel's voice trembled as she tried to keep from crying. It went silent and Missy let out a sigh. Zoro was leaving and it would be up to her and Regy to keep Rachel and Hunter going. Rachel would no doubt be sad for a while and there would be no consoling Hunter at first.

A few minutes later Zoro and Rachel entered the hangar with Hunter. Johnny and Yosaku were trailing after them. "What are you two doing?" Missy looked at them.

"We're going with Big Bro," Johnny stated.

"We're going to help him reach his goal so he can be back sooner," Yosaku added.

"I doubt they'll be much help," Missy muttered under her breath. "Okay, fine," she said in an authoritative voice. "But when they get to town you two hang back a ways. They need to spend time together."

"Wait a minute," Regy rushed into the room. "I'll come with you guys. There's something that you absolutely need to get Rachel. If you're going to send letters back and forth when you can you have to be able to send Zoro pictures of yourself and Hunter too. We'll get a camera snail for ourselves in town so we can do just that."

"We're kind of pushing it to look for two den den mushi," Rachel said. "It's even more unlikely we'll find a camera snail."

"It never hurts to look," Regy argued. "Besides, I'll be the one to look for what you need. You three just enjoy walking around the town as a family. Try to avoid being seen by criminals and shady characters though. It's bad enough that word got out Zoro's married. It'll be even worse if..." Regy looked to Hunter and she didn't need to say more. She then put her hands on the shoulders of Johnny and Yosaku. "Besides, I have these two to help look. Our chances just got better with three looking."

"Missy?" Rachel looked to her cousin.

"I'll stay and watch the ship," Missy offered. She approached Zoro at that point. "You better not wait to finish your dream. I don't need Hunter to be a teenager before you finally decide to come back and grace us with your sparkling personality. One other thing, you stay loyal to my cousin or you'll learn exactly what the phrase 'Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned' really means. If you die in your quest, I'll kill you." Zoro did his best to hide the smirk that was crossing his features.

Regy couldn't believe their luck. Sure they had stopped at five other shops before hand, but they finally found one that had what they were looking for. There were three den den mushi sleeping on the shelf in front of her. Just below that was a camera snail, also sleeping. The prices were outlandish, but Missy gave her more than enough beli. In an effort to make sure that they had everything needed she also gave enough to buy a ship of some sort for Zoro and the two official bounty hunters. For the three snails she needed the total came to two hundred and fifty thousand beli. It was steep, but no doubt would be worth it so that Hunter would still have a way to hear his dad talk to him.

The three started searching the streets for Zoro and Rachel. It shouldn't be that hard since they agreed to stay in certain areas to make sure they could be found and also not recognized so easily. Rachel would hopefully be able to convince everyone that Zoro wasn't, well, Zoro.

"I can't believe you did that," Zoro complained. "Why did you let them believe that I was someone else?"

"They saw you with your wife and a toddler that looks exactly like you," Rachel reasoned. "If anyone thought that you had a family the rumor would spread like wildfire. Much like this Daddy the Father I keep hearing about around this town. A single father that doubles as a bounty hunter? People obviously know who that is. If you consider that you'll be making more enemies in your pursuit to be the best it's better for them to believe that you're on your own and not responsible for a family."

"It was just a shopkeeper," Zoro pointed out.

"That wanted details about us," Rachel also added. "Anyone that wants details that much is bound to be a huge gossip. That, or out to sell the information to the highest bidder. It won't do any good to confirm their suspsicions. It's better to keep them guessing. Plus, more fun for me. I love spinning half truths so people come to their own conclusion. Not my fault if they believe something I didn't say."

"You let him think I have a brother," Zoro growled. "You let him think that I am that brother."

"Best cover story ever," Rachel grinned. "Obviously Hunter looks too much like you to deny that you're family. But it's not unreasonable to assume that he looks a lot like his 'uncle' than his own father. My brother's daughter looks like me, after all. You would think we were mother and daughter if it wasn't for her hair being straight."

"I still think that was a little excessive," Zoro shook his head. "You didn't really need to talk to him at all."

"He'll forget about this event," Rachel shrugged. "The famous Zoro didn't visit him, after all. Much less him having a family."

"How do you think that Baroque Works found out about you?"

"They followed your trail and talked to the marines," Rachel said. "All it took was to talk to the marines at the base where we got married. It's on my list of places to go next. I'll be paying them a visit and have a nice chat about loose lips sinking ships."

"You're face just turned evil," Zoro smirked. "You sure that you don't want to try your hand at bounty hunting?"

"Too risky," Rachel shook her head. "You've even said that I'm not suited for it. One bounty hunter in the family is enough." She paused to let Zoro take Hunter when the toddler reached for him. Zoro was more than willing to hold onto his son.

"Until Hunter I didn't give it much thought," Zoro changed the subject. Rachel looked at him as she waited for him to continue. "Kids really don't have much of a defense against anything. They're completely reliant on us adults to make sure they're happy."

"That's the way life is," Rachel agreed. "Children need to be kept out of harms way until they can both recognize it and have a way to either defend or stay away from it." Zoro hummed to himself as he seemed to think about how children are treated.

"There you guys are!" Zoro and Rachel turned to see Regy, Johnny and Yosaku coming towards them. "I've got the snails," Regy grinned. "Let's go to the beach. I want you to have a family photo before Zoro leaves." Without waiting for a reply Regy led the way towards the water. She was bound and determined to make sure that they all had a memory.

On the beach Regy made the group walk a little ways. After some time Rachel and Zoro realized where they were headed. They had left the lifeboat a little up the beach and out of sight. The Harbinger would have been within sight of the lifeboat. Once they reached the destination Regy had in mind she had the family of three pose for the camera snail. The ocean and Harbinger made the perfect background for them.

Once she took a few pictures of all of them together Regy had Rachel hold Hunter as she pulled Zoro away. She then started taking pictures of Mother and Son. Once finished Zoro took Rachel's place. Then the two were photographed together without Hunter. Finally came the single shots. "I'm going to get these developed back in town," Regy announced. She handed Rachel the purse with the remaining Beli she was given. "There should be enough to buy the boys a suitable ship. While you go ship shopping I'll get these developed. It shouldn't take me too long." Regy rushed back to town while the others followed at a more sedate pace, the guys now carrying their personal bags.

The group went to the harbor master. Johnny was voted to do the talking about purchasing a small ship. "Why didn't you talk to him Big Sis?" Yosaku asked. "You and Missy struck me as the business type."

"I know nothing of sail boats," Rachel admitted. "I can tell you how to operate Harbinger, from stem to stern. But it doesn't exactly have sails, does it? It's engine is what makes it one of a kind in this world I suppose. The closest anyone has to her are giant paddle boats. They get from point a to point b, but they're not very fast. Even then they rely more on the sails then the paddles when push comes to shove."

Johnny came walking back at that moment. "He's got a small ship to show us," Johnny grinned at them.

"Then you let Zoro take a look at it," Rachel advised.

"But I thought you wanted Johnny to handle the details," Yosaku was confused.

"I wanted Johnny to talk to the Harbor Master," Rachel explained. "His more friendly disposition would make the man more open to dealing with you at the start. To have Zoro look at the ship, with his ever present frown.."

"Oi."

"It'll make the Harbor Master nervous he won't make a sale. If he tries to over charge for the ship Zoro's appearance will make it seem like he knows he's being swindled. The man will become overly nervous. By the off chance he doesn't try to swindle, instead of unexplicably lowering the price he'll try to barter. Either way, you have a better chance of the price being lowered if it's Zoro that looks at the ship." She then looked to Zoro. "You should also look like you at least know what you're looking for."

"I know how to sail a ship woman," Zoro growled. "You're the one that doesn't know the rudder from the mast."

"I know what both of those are," Rachel rolled her eyes. "We had wooden ships in my world for hundreds of years."

"Then how come you don't know how to sail one?" Yosaku asked.

"Don't need to," Rachel smiled. "Technology has made wooden ships obsolete. The only ones that know how to sail them are people that don't have access to modern technology or people that are into vintage sailing. There are small sail boats, but those have engines in case of emergencies too."

Zoro walked through the small ship. He checked the wood quality, how it was fitted together and if anything was loose. He then checked the rigging to make sure nothing was fraying or missing. He dove into the water to check if there were a lot of barnacles and if the rudder was whole. At this point the Harbor Master was sweating and shifting uncomfortably. Rachel elbowed Yosaku and motioned towards the man.

Zoro pulled himself up and glared at the man. "What are you trying to pull?" he demanded. "This thing isn't fit to sail to the next island."

"I didn't think you would go under water," the man muttered.

"So that made it okay to try to swindle us?" Rachel demanded. "I think I should go and have a chat with the marines."

"Don't do that," the Harbor Master hastily spoke. "I can't get another report. I'll lose my job and sanction."

"You should have thought about that before," Rachel tapped her foot impatiently.

"I have one other ship I can show you," the Harbor Master relented. He led them to the next dock over. "This one was left behind by a group of pirates."

"They just left it?" Yosaku asked.

"Not by choice," the Harbor Master smiled. "You see, the new captain here is relentless when it comes to criminal activity. Any new pirates that come seeking to try and make their way to the Grandline are intercepted by him and imprisoned."

"I was wondering where all the pirates were," Johnny muttered. When Yosaku looked at him in confusion he elaborated. "This is the last stop in East Blue before Pirates head off to try their hand at the Grandline. There should be a lot more pirates here then there are."

When they came to the next boat the Harbor Master tried to sell them Zoro immediately started his inspection. Regy came running up to them just as he dove into the water. She handed some pictures to Rachel. There were four different pictures that were given to her. One with all three of them, one with just Zoro and Hunter, one with her and Zoro and one of just Zoro. Regy showed Rachel the pictures Zoro would get. The one with all three and just the two of them were the same. But he would be getting a picture of just her with Hunter and one of just her. Rachel smiled down fondly at all of them.

The two of them didn't notice that Zoro and Johnny finished the deal with the Harbor Master. "What are those?" Zoro walked up.

Regy looked Zoro up and down. "I would show you, but you're being wet would ruin them," she snapped. Zoro rolled his eyes and pulled a shirt from the bag Yosaku held for him. He dried off his hands so he could see what Regy had. He gave a sincere smile at the pictures that had been taken. Rachel took them and carefully put them in a pocket in his bag to save them from getting wet.

Regy urged Johnny and Yosaku to get the ship ready for departure. Yosaku brought Zoro's bag on board with him while Johnny rushed to the market to get some supplies.

Rachel urged Zoro to take hold of Hunter. "I'll get him wet," Zoro objected.

"I have a spare set of clothes in his travel bag," Rachel stated. "I'll get him changed before going back to Harbinger." Zoro nodded in agreement and took his son into his arms.

With a serious expression Zoro started talking to Hunter. "Don't give your mom a hard time," he lectured. "It's okay if you want to give Aunt Missy and Regy one though. When you're old enough to walk you need to start training. When I get back I want to see how good you've gotten. Your mom will help you, I know she will. It's okay if you want to learn her fighting style instead of swords. If you do want to learn swords, I'll give you pointers when I can. You're going to be the man of the ship now. Take care of your mom and the ship." Zoro didn't know what else to say so he held Hunter as tightly as he dared.

Regy took Hunter once Zoro pulled away. She walked off to the side to give Rachel and Zoro some privacy. "You didn't need to tell him all of that," Rachel smiled. "You have the den den mushi Regy bought for you. We'll still talk as often as we can. As far as him training, I'll make sure he knows he has options, but not as soon as he walks."

Zoro pulled Rachel into his arms and stared down at her. "You take care of yourself too," he whispered. "Hunter needs you more than he needs me."

"He needs us both," Rachel argued.

"I know," Zoro pressed his forehead to Rachel's. "But it's like you said, this isn't forever and it's something I have to do." The two held to each other for a long moment. Rachel's giggling caused Zoro to pull back a little. "What?"

"We've come a long way from you pouring water in my eyes," she teased.

"Had to bring that up, did you?" Zoro squeezed onto Rachel a little tighter. "You sure you're fine with this?"

"How many times have you asked that today?" Rachel sighed. "I said it before and I'll say it again. 'No, I'm not fine'. At the same time I can't stand the thought of you resenting Hunter and myself if we held you back. This is better for us in the long run. 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'."

"Your world has a lot of interesting sayings," Zoro pointed out. "First Missy with her woman's fury and now this absence remark."

"The ones that ring true always stick with you," Rachel smiled. "I'm sure you'll carry these two with you." The two noted that Johnny had returned and Yosaku was helping him load the ship with the last of the supplies. "You'll take care of the pictures?"

"As if they were actually the two of you," Zoro agreed. He then gave Rachel a tender and lingering kiss.

"I'll miss you," Rachel whispered when they parted. "Just remember one thing: 'You aren't allowed to die'." With his goal being so dangerous it was a real possibility.

"I know." Zoro slowly pulled away and jumped into the boat. He stood at the rail as Johnny and Yosaku manuevered away from the dock. Rachel walked along the dock with the ship as it moved. The two held hands for as long as they could. When she ran out of room to walk their hands were torn apart. Both still held each others gaze the further Zoro moved away. Once the boat was finally out of sight Rachel fell to her knees.

She felt a small set of hands on her back and one large hand. With tears in her eyes she saw Regy looking at her sadly. Hunter, noticing his mother's distress started tearing up himself. It wasn't long before he started bawling. Carefully Rachel stood and took the toddler into her arms. She cradled to him as if her life depended on it. Regy engulfed the two of them in her own arms. Being born male had it's advantages, her arms were long enough to fully wrap around the two of them in comfort. They didn't start back for the Harbinger until the sun was starting to set. Once back on board Missy had to give her own mehod of comfort while Regy left to prepare something to eat.


End file.
